
Pass bA^-_J. 

Book. -i '5 

OopiglitM- . 



0OPXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



FROM INFIDELITY 

TO 

CHRISTIANITY 

—AND— 

WHY I AM A SEVENTH-DAY 
ADVENTIST. 



BY L. F. PASSEBOIS 



ROSCOE PRINTING HOUSE 
ESSEX JUNCTION, VT. 






Copyright 1916 by L. F. Passebois 
All rights reserved. 



4 



OCT -6 1916 

^>CI.A438734 

\ . 



"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; 
blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." 



"This poor man cried and the Lord heard 
him and saved him out of all his troubles." 



PREFACE. 

In all the ages of earth's sad, contra- 
dictory career, God has had His witnesses. 
"The Heavens declare the glory of God; 
and the firmament showeth His handiwork. 
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night 
unto night sheweth knowledge. There is 
no speech nor language where their voice 
is not heard." Ps. 19:1-3. 

Not only has God witnessed of His 
power, wisdom, grace, etc., through the 
heavens, by His written word, and the 
true witness, Jesus Christ, but he delights 
to take the imperfect human and make 
him show forth the praise of the glory of 
His grace. 

This book is written as a witness to the 
saving and wonder working power of God 
in the life of a man. 

David says in Ps. 66:16, "Come and 
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare 
what he hath done for my soul." And again, 
in Ps. 34:4, 6, 8, "I sought the Lord, and 

7 



8 PREFACE 

he heard me, and delivered me from all my 
fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord 
heard him, and saved him out of all his trou- 
bles. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is 
good: blessed is the man that trusteth in 
Him." 

For several years there have come to 
the author many requests to write his ex- 
periences, the story of his life, and his con- 
version. Yielding to the requests of these 
friends, and with the hope that God will 
use the frail words and imperfect express- 
ions herein written, to the glory of His name 
and to the salvation of souls, this volume 
has been written and is now presented to 
the public. 

L. F. PASSEBOIS. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Parentage and Early Life. — Death of my Mother. — Bap- 
tized a Catholic and Rebaptized a Protestant. — Between 
the Rod and the Church 15 

CHAPTER II. 

La Grande Tente des Adventistes. — School Boys. — Elder 
D. T. Bourdeau's Labors in Nimes, France. — Conversion 
of my Sisters, and their Subsequent Trials. — Setting Fire to 
the Clothes on the Line. — My Conversion 22 

CHAPTER III. 

Leaving Home. — The Illness of my Father. — His Con- 
version and Death. — Returning Home 36 

CHAPTER IV. 

Leaving France. — At the Battle Creek Sanitarium. — 
Discouragement and Victory. — First Testimony 44 

CHAPTER V. 

My Baptism. — Studying the Scriptures. — Arrival of Tom 
Mackey in Battle Creek. — Holding Cottage Meetings With 
my Neighbors. — Held up and Assaulted on a Bridge in Chi- 
cago. — Laboring for a Drunkard ...51 

CHAPTER VI. 

Called to Staten Island. — Death of a Dear Friend 60 

CHAPTER VII. 

Fulton Street Mission. — Conversion of Mr. Hill and Mr. 
Boll.— Their Fall.— Attempt to Kill Each Other.— Mr. Boll 
on His Feet Again.— Death of Mr. Hill 62 



10 FROM INFIDELITY 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Power of God and a Test of Faith. — Temperance Work 
— Christmas Eve. — Carrying Coal in Sacks on Christmas Day. 
— Mr. Funk's Gift. — Rescuing a Girl from White Slavery. — 
My Marriage. — Conversion of a Young Man. — A Graduate 
of Harvard University Debauched by Drink 71 

CHAPTER IX. 

Called to Switzerland. — Accepting the Call. — Starting 
with only Fifty Cents. — Brother C. Emptying His Pocket 
Book. — The Voyage. — Experience of a Christian Scientist 
on the Steamer. — Arrival in Switzerland. — Followed up by 
the Authorities there. — Camp Meeting in Lausanne. — Birth 
of Oliver L. Passebois. — Answering the Call to go to Egypt. — 
Voyage on the Mediterranean Sea. — God's Power Over the 
Sea. — His Wonderful Handiwork 82 

CHAPTER X. 

Arrival at Port Said. — Settling in Cairo. — Water in the 
Milk. — An Egyptian Wedding. — Education of the Native 
Boys 96 

CHAPTER XL 

Egypt in Prophecy. — Visit of the Pastor of the Native 
Church in Luxor. — He Accepts the Truth. — Opposition of 
Presbyterian Mission 104 

CHAPTER XII. 

Visiting Native Villages. — Organization of First S. D. A.. 
Church in Egypt. — Description of a Native Village. — Dining 
in a Native Hut. — Shaking Hands with a Leper. — Cholera in 
Cairo. — Organizing the Church. — Birth of Our Elder Daugh- 
ter. — Meeting Mehemet Ali Pasha. — False Cry of Peace and 
Safety Ill 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Taking a Much Needed Rest. — Two Dreams of the Death 
of Loved Ones. — A Sunstroke. — Visit to Switzerland. — Re- 
turning to this Country. — Arrival in New York. — Birth of 
Gladys P. Passebois. — Connecting with the Work in Nashville, 
Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga. — Discouraged. — Moving North 128 



TO CHRISTIANITY 11 



CHAPTER XIV. 



A Fire. — Subsequent Labors in Manchester. — Dream 
of Fire. — The Burning of Our Home. — Conversion of a Catho- 
lic Priest. — My Ordination to the M inistry 136 

CHAPTER XV. 

Poisoned by a Cough Drop. — Tent Effort in Richford. — 
Conversion of a Catholic Girl in Burlington. — Work in Barre- 
— Called to Rutland. — Summoned to Court 145 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Laconia, N. H. — Despise Not Prophesying. — Commenc- 
ing Work in Laconia. — Appearing in Court. — An Auto 
Accident 155 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Why I Am a Seventh-day Adventist. — Jesus is Coming. 165 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
Nearing the Promised Land 177" 



THE CALL 



Up to the work, O ye reapers go forward, 
Stop not to question the means or the way; 
Look at the fields white all ready to harvest, 
Labor, O labor for souls while ydu may 

Lift up your standard, the Father's Commandments;: 
Let your light shine be it ever so dim; 
Speak forth the message He bids you deliver; 
Fear thou the Lord and give glory to Him. 

Onward is hasting the hour of His judgment, 
When every saint will receive his reward, 
Where every sinner with trembling and terror, 
Shall seek to hide from the face of the Lord. 

Nations are angry and Satan is seeking 
Means to deceive upon every hand : 
Up Christians, answer the call of your Father, 
Quickly, O quickly obey His commands. 

Heaven will open and Jesus will gather 

All His elect to their glorious home. 

Work while 'tis day that the dear souls around you, 

May be prepared for the Lord when He comes*. 

F. C 



CHAPTER ONE. 
PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 

The parents of the writer were 
born in France and were descendants of 
the Huguenots. 

My father, whose name was Louis Fred- 
erick Passebois, and whose son I am (at 
least I believe I am because he told me 
that I was, and it must be so, for my father 
always told the truth), was born in Genol- 
liac, Gard, France, July 3, 1843, and died 
Feb. 17, 1890, in Nimes, France. 

My mother was his wife, and of course, 
I was her son. She was born in Levans, 
Gard, France, Sept. 9, 1845, and died in 
Sept. 1875. I was then 16 months old, 
and it is so long ago that I do not remem- 
ber who attended the funeral nor what 
the preacher said. However, I know that 
whatever he said about her being in heaven 
or hell was not true, for he had not been 
there himself and knew nothing about it, 
as he did not believe what the Old Book 
says; for it says, "in that very day 
his thoughts perish." Psalms 146:4; and 

15 



16 FROM INFIDELITY 

again, in Ecclesiastes, it says, "the liv- 
living know that they shall die, but the 
dead know not anything." 

Well, I was the last to arrive in this 
world of a family of nine, five girls and 
four boys. Being the last of the family,, 
may have had something to do with my 
stature and size, but my being the least 
in size and stature, did not make me the 
least otherwise. 

That memorable year in which I was 
born will always stand as A. D. 1874, and 
that year is made especially memorable 
by the fact that my birth is recorded at 
three different dates in the year. My fa- 
ther told me that I was born on the twenty- 
eighth of May, 1874. Of course, if he 
did not tell a lie, it was true; and I can 
prove that it was true from a copy of the 
Etat Civil, of Genolliac, Gard, France. I 
have two other governmental records, my 
military book and my naturalization pa- 
per, in which two different dates of my 
birth are given. 

Soon after my birth, my mother became 
ill, and, her work being finished, went to her 
rest, leaving us all to shift for ourselves. I 
was then, according to a certain record, sixteen 



TO CHRISTIANITY 17 

months, a week, two days and thirteen hours 
old. For whatever took place at that time, 
I have to depend on other witnesses, as my 
memory of that time does not seem very good* 

When only two weeks old, my father and 
mother, who were both members of a Protes- 
tant church, with the assistance of a godfather 
and godmother and others, took me to the 
church, which I suppose they thought was the 
one of my choice. Here in the holy edifice, I 
was brought to the altar, and a good old min- 
ister of the Gospel did the best he knew to in- 
itiate me into the Christian religion by sprink- 
ling me with water. From what some wit- 
nesses have told me since, the congregation 
found out that I had a good pair of lungs, for 
my voice was raised high and loud and caused 
more commotion than the choir and old pipe 
organ. 

From this time till the death of my mother, 
I kept no diary, and so am unable to give any 
information concerning the conduct of my 
neighbors or myself. After the death of my 
mother, it was thought that my interest 
and that of others would be best served by 
giving me a new boarding place. A peasant 
home was found, and soon I found myself in 
the arms of a Catholic woman, who, being de- 



18 FROM INFIDELITY 

voted to the Catholic faith, was in every par- 
ticular faithful to her religion and the priest. 

Lo! and behold! A rumor, yes, more 
than a rumor is afloat; it is reported that the 
new boarder is a Protestant. "My, what will 
happen next? Has he a black nose?" Two 
by two they come to the farmhouse, and what 
was their surprise when, contrary to what they 
had been taught, they saw that his nose was 
not different in color from their own. Mrs. 
St. Gervais, however, as a good Catholic, was 
faithful to the advice of her priest, and, to 
merit heaven and the blessing of all the saints, 
took the little Protestant boy to the Catholic 
church; here under the sumptuous ritual of 
the church, in the hands of another godfather 
and godmother selected for the occasion, I 
was for the second time sprinkled; this time 
with the "holy" water of the Catholic Church. 
What the difference was between that water 
and the water with which I was sprinkled be- 
fore, I do not remember; and what the Catho- 
lic priest said and did, has passed from my 
memory also ; but, by reliable witnesses, I was 
told that I made such a fuss when the water 
reached me that the priest declared he would 
never baptize another Protestant. 

My father, hearing of my change 



TO CHRISTIANITY 19 

of religion without his consent, was very 
indignant and declared that he would not 
only refuse to pay my board bill, but 
would also sue my boarding mistress for 
damages. I never learned whether he got any 
damages or not, but I know that a few days 
after he learned of the affair, he had someone 
bring me back home. Then, on a bright Sun- 
day (the day established by the Roman Cath- 
olic Church as a day of rest), I was taken down 
to the altar of the Protestant Church; here, 
to eradicate all the Catholic defilement, a good 
old Protestant minister, with a good long 
prayer, took a new supply of Protestant water 
and sprinkled me for the third time. My! 
What a good Christian boy, sprinkled three 
times before he was three years old! Some 
one has told me since that when I came out 
of the church I left behind all the religion 
which had been sprinkled upon me. 

Well, many things happened from that 
time on of which I have no recollection. My 
father has told me many times that he could 
not see that I was any better than the rest 
of the boys or any more religiously inclined, 
though I had been sprinkled three times. I 
well remember when Sunday came and to 
church we were to go, our Louis would disap- 



20 FROM INFIDELITY 

pear and go to the Sunday show. Of course 
my people were religious and believed in the 
proverb, "Spare the rod and spoil the child, ir 
and so, when the church service was over and 
I returned from the show, something besides 
dinner was served. This was intended as an 
exterior remedy for the purpose of imparting 
to me a religious desire for church attendance. 
The bull fight in the arena of Nimes, France, 
where we moved in 1882, had more attraction 
for me on Sunday than what the minister had 
to say. When I was compelled to attend, I 
contrived a way to pass away the time by 
playing tricks. Some of the good sisters, as 
they endeavored to arise for the benediction, 
would find themselves tied to the seat, and 
others would find their dresses pinned to their 
neighbor's. 

The Sunday school did not have much 
attraction for me either, and when I was in- 
formed about that awful place called hell, 
where I would burn forever if I did not believe 
in Christ, I became angry at the thought. I 
could not see how God could be so mean 
as to cause me to burn for eternity because I 
did not believe in Christ, and I refused to go 
any more to the Sunday school. From that 
time I became an infidel, and had no more use 



TO CHRISTIANITY 21 

for the church or anything pertaining to it. 
The more the switch was used to convince me 
of my need of attending church, the more ha- 
tred grew in my heart against anything per- 
taining to the Bible, God, Christ, the church, 
etc. Let me remark right here that this teach- 
ing of eternal torment, is a fable invented by 
the father of lies, who, in the Garden of Eden, 
said to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die." Gen. 
3:4. This was a direct contradiction to what 
God had said. 



CHAPTER TWO. 
LA GRANDE TENTE DES ADVENTISTES 

Coming out of the school one day, a boy 
called to his schoolmates, "Boys, have you 
seen the big tent?" 

"What tent?" 

"La grande tente des Adventistes." 

They were interested at once. 

"What is that, a circus?" 

"Yes, a religious circus; come along and 
see it, boys." 

Several of us were missing from the class 
room that afternoon, and the same night found 
about fifty of us boys gathered around the 
tent, where Elder D. T. Bourdeau, a man with 
very long whiskers, was trying his best to 
tell the people about the old Bible, etc. 

Several policemen had been called to the 
scene, but they were of a mild temperament, 
and it rather amused them to see the boys 
throw eggs, tomatoes, and stones, as well as 
other fancy articles, at the tent. 

When the service closed, the long-whis- 
kered gentleman, whom we surnamed "the 
Apostle Paul," was escorted to a house,. 

22 



TO CHRISTIANITY 23 

where he sought refuge from the storm. It 
was over for that night, but was renewed with 
violence the next evening; also for a number 
of days and even weeks the tent was a rendez- 
vous for fun and laughter. 

Notwithstanding all the rumpus, ridicule, 
and opposition of every kind, those ' 'religious 
cranks," as they were called, kept up their 
meetings. Some people attended the services 
regularly, and listened to what "the old Apos- 
tle Paul" had to say. 

Among those who attended the meetings, 
who do you suppose I saw one day? Why, 
my two sisters and my aunt. Well, now, that 
was enough to make me feel fine! They had 
been attending church every Sunday and 
sometimes a midweek prayer meeting, but 
now it was every night, and if you please, at 
the tent with those fanatics. 

Well, that would never do, and I knew 
my father would not stand for it, so to my 
father, with this message, I went: 'The old 
Apostle Paul at the tent is scaring the people 
by assuring them that the end of the world 
is near, and my sisters are getting scared into 
the same belief. They go there every night." 

Father and I made a visit to the tent, and 
as we were somewhat interested in the prophe- 



24 FROM INFIDELITY 

cies of the Bible, we attended several of the 
services. This was not the same teaching as 
that which we had heard in other churches 
and we became convinced that the Elder knew 
his Bible. 

A few weeks after this, these Seventh- 
day Adventists began to teach that Sunday 
was not the Sabbath according to the Bible, 
and one night the Elder took for his subject 
"The Sabbath and Its Change Examined." 
Of course the tent was rilled to hear this 
strange doctrine. He said in part: 

"The inspired writers of the New Testa- 
ment kept the seventh day, and, according to 
Jesus' instruction prayed for forty years that 
they might not violate the sanctity of this 
holy day. Matt. 24:20. 

"We find the record in the 15th chapter 
of Acts of a contention over the rite of cir- 
cumcision. A decision was rendered freeing 
Christians from this ceremonial service. We 
find a full record of the change in the temple 
service and priesthood in the book of Hebrews. 
We find Paul settling a dispute at Colosse in 
regard to the ceremonial holy days of Leviti- 
cus 23. All these changes are recorded. But 
where is the record of any dispute or change 



TO CHRISTIANITY 25 

in regard to the keeping of the seventh-day 
Sabbath of God's fourth commandment? 

4 'Had the apostles introduced a change in 
the seventh-day Sabbath, councils would have 
been held at Jerusalem to decide upon the 
change. But none were held. The Bible 
affords no room for dispute or doubt on this 
question, for the evangelical prophet, Isaiah, 
speaking of the bringing in of the Gentile- 
Christians to the church of God, emphatically 
declares that they are to keep the Sabbath 
day. (Isaiah 56 and Eph. 3:6). 

"The Old Testament writings were the 
only ones used by the apostles in their preach- 
ing and teaching, and in establishing and or- 
ganizing the Christian church, and no provi- 
sion for the change of the Sabbath by the true 
church can be found here, but, on the other 
hand, a continuance of the strict observance 
of the seventh-day Sabbath. Hence we find 
all the converts of Pentecost in Jerusalem, 
keeping the seventh-day Sabbath (Acts 21 :20), 
and the church members numbering about ten 
thousand, went as seventh-day Christians 
everywhere, living and preaching the truths 
of Christianity. 

' 'There was no change, then, of the Sab- 
bath at Pentecost, for the mother church of 



26 FROM INFIDELITY 

Christianity had for its pastor the apostle 
James, who taught that "whosoever shall 
keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 
point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:8-11.) 
Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, says r 
"This is the rule that I lay down in every 
church, to keep God's commands is every 
thing." This included the Seventh-day Sab- 
bath command. 

"The present generation of Protestants 
keeps Sunday holy instead of Saturday, be- 
cause they received it as a part of the Chris- 
tian religion from the last generation, and 
that generation received it from the genera- 
tion before, and so on backward from one 
generation to another, by a continual recession 
until we come to the time of the (so-called) 
Reformation, when it so happened that those 
who led out in that work of reform, left this 
particular portion of the Catholic faith and 
practice untouched. 

"There was no change, then, of the Sab- 
bath by Paul, for he met in the synagogue 
and by the river on the Sabbath day, and 
preached the gospel for Jew and Gentile. (Acts 
18:4) When the apostles had all passed 
away except John, the divine record of him 
is that he was "in the spirit on the Lord's day," 



TO CHRISTIANITY 27 

which the Scriptures distinctly declare is the 
seventh day of the week. (Ex. 20:10.) Jesus, 
when speaking of the seventh-day Sabbath, 
said, "it was made for man," and that he was 
the Lord of it. (Mark 2:27-28.) It was the 
Lord's day. The seventh-day Sabbath is the 
Lord's day and no other. (Isa 58:13). 

"Therefore, John kept the seventh-day 
Sabbath, and coming down to the close of the 
first century, we still find no change, not even 
a hint. 

"But we do find the divine light of prophe- 
cy focused on the Dark Ages as the time when 
this attempted change would be brought 
about. And the power which would attempt 
to make the change is clearly pointed out in 
Daniel 7:25. As we turn to history we find 
this prophecy accurately fulfilled. 

"All over the world today there are those 
who love truth above tradition, and the voice 
of God above the voice of men, who are turn- 
ing their feet in the path of God's command- 
ments, and are keeping the only Sabbath 
ever given to man, the seventh day of the 
week. They are fulfilling prohpecy, for, in 
speaking of this Sabbath-keeping movement, 
the Seer of Patmos describes them as keeping 



28 FROM INFIDELITY 

the commandments of God and the faith of 
Jesus. (Rev. 14:12 and 12:17.) 

' 'The entire New Testament was written 
from thirty to sixty years after the resurrec- 
tion. In it there is not one word concerning 
a change of the day or the blessing and sanc- 
tifying of a new Sabbath. On the contrary, 
the early Christians were never accused of vio- 
lating the Sabbath. They ever held the ten 
commandments to be the law of the New 
Covenant and the standard of judgment. But 
we must leave the critical examination of this 
testimony to a future study. May God help 
us to get from the Lord's day the blessing and 
presence which He has placed therein." 

Like Agrippa of old, father said: "That 
man almost convinces me." This was strong 
medicine and the next night an excuse was 
found for not going to the meeting and it was 
the last of our attendance at the tent. 

A few weeks after this, both my sisters, 
taking the promise found in Isa. 56:2, decided 
to keep God's Sabbath. 

Father, who had many acquaintances 
and was well spoken of by his friends, felt that 
it would be a shame and a disgrace for his 
daughters to be Seventh-day Adventists. So, 
first by reasoning, and then otherwise, he 



TO CHRISTIANITY 29 

tried to show them how foolish it would be for 
them to keep Saturday when everybody else 
was working. The ministers of the place 
were called to the house and much reasoning 
of the human mind was exercised, but among 
all these ministers, not one was able to give 
one verse of Scripture to prove that we should 
keep Sunday holy, and, therefore, my sisters 
remained firm to their conviction and kept 
the Sabbath. 

When persuasion and milder methods 
failed to cause them to give up the truth, per- 
secution began, and it would take a large 
volume to write all that was imagined and 
done in order to have them give up the faith. 

The boys in school plagued me by calling 
me a Jew, because my sisters kept the Sab- 
bath, and the time came when the school, the 
home, etc., were so unpleasant that I decided 
to leave home. I was then only fourteen 
years of age, but I left with some money in my 
pocket, and, of course, as long as it lasted, 
all was pleasant; but after it was gone, 
all was dark and gloomy, and, like the 
prodigal son, I decided to return home. Being 
without money, the journey home was hard 
and I decided to put an end to my life by 
throwing, myself before a moving train, but 



30 FROM INFIDELITY 

my efforts failed, for a man pulled me out of 
the way of the train and I only received a few 
scratches. 

My sisters were glad to welcome me home 
and for a little time, things went smoothly, 
but one Sunday morning my elder sister, who 
had been washing, hung the clothes out on the 
line. Of course people coming and going to 
and from church could see them. This 
was very humiliating to father and me, and 
as I did not like the boys to make fun of me 
by laughing at me and calling me a Jew, I told 
father I had a good notion to take the clothes 
inside, to which he answered, "A better thing 
to do is to take some kerosene and burn them 
up." With a triumphant air, I got the kero- 
sene and set the clothes on fire, and we had 
some difficulty in saving the house from burn- 
ing. However, our aim was accomplished 
and no more clothes were seen on the clothes 
lines on Sunday. 

Elder Bourdeau made a visit to our home 
and was told to stay away, but "the old apos- 
tle," not having a chance to talk to us, sent 
the paper, Les Signes des Temps, to our home 
regularly. When my sisters were not around 
we would read the papers and I became es- 
pecially interested in the prophecies. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 31 

Up to this time I had no use for the Bi- 
ble and even hated to hear any one mention 
it, but I was very fond of history, and when 
I read in Les Signes des Temps that history 
was only a fulfillment of prophecy and 
that God had written history in advance, 
the Bible became a curiosity and I began 
to search it. I found it to be an entirely 
different book than I thought it was. 

By studying the Bible I became con- 
vinced that my sisters were right in keep- 
ing the seventh-day Sabbath and follow- 
ing the teachings of the Seventh-day Ad- 
ventists, but I would not give them the 
satisfaction of knowing that I felt that 
way, as I was not a Christian and did not 
want to be one, neither did I want the peo- 
ple to think that I had any sympathy for 
Christians. 

The 17th of July, 1890, was a very 
hot day, and while I was walking in a vine- 
yard that afternoon, in company with a 
friend, the sky suddenly began to darken 
and thunder and lightning followed. Sud- 
denly a clash came and I was struck, and 
it is a wonder that I was not killed. 
Friends carried me into a house uncon- 
scious and I remained in that condition 



32 FROM INFIDELITY 

for about half an hour. The doctor was 
called, but a long illness followed. I was 
in bed three months as the result of the 
shock. When I seemed to be on the gain, 
typhoid fever set in and my condition be- 
came serious. 

I grew worse and worse until the doc- 
tors in consultation said there was no hope. 
For forty-eight hours I had been uncon- 
scious. My body was growing cold. It 
was now four months since I had become 
ill, and to all appearances, I would never 
regain consciousness. My loved ones were 
weeping while they watched for my last 
moment, for the doctor had said, "It is a 
matter of only a little while." 

But my two sisters were praying, and 
like Jacob of old, they prevailed with God. 
At one o'clock in the morning, though 
unable to move or speak, I regained con- 
sciousness. My first thought was of my 
condition ; I felt that I was at the door of 
the grave, and, for the first time in my life, 
I prayed, though silently. My heavenly 
Father heard my thoughts, for "He un- 
derstandeth my thoughts afar off." Ps. 
139: 2. I was instantly and miraculous- 
ly healed. The same morning I arose from 



TO CHRISTIANITY 33 

my bed and the next day I went out on the 
street. 

Job says: ''God speaketh once, yea twice, 
yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, 
in a vision of the night, when deep sleep 
falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the 
bed; then he openeth the ears of men, 
and sealeth their instruction, that he may 
withdraw man from his purpose, and hide 
pride from man. He keepeth back his 
soul from the pit, and his life from per- 
ishing by the sword. He is chastened also 
with pain upon his bed, and the multitude 
of his bones with strong pain: so that his 
life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty 
meat. His flesh is consumed away, that 
it cannot be seen; and his bones that were 
not seen stick out. Yea, his soul draweth 
near unto the grave, and his life to the 
destroyers." Job 33:14-22. "He shall 
pray unto God, and he will be favorable 
unto him: and he shall see his face with 
joy; for he will render unto man his right- 
eousness. He looketh upon men, and if 
any say, I have sinned and perverted that 
which was right, and it profited me not; 
he will deliver his soul from going into the 
pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, 



34 FROM INFIDELITY 

all these things worketh God oftentimes 
with man, to bring back his soul from the 
pit, to be enlightened with the light of the 
living/' Job 33: 26-30. 

This was true in my case and I, like 
David, can say: "I sought the Lord, and 
he heard me and delivered me from all my 
fears." Ps. 34 : 4. "This poor man cried 
and the Lord heard him and saved him 
out of all his troubles." Ps. 34:6. My 
prayer to God was: "If there is a God and 
lie will reveal Himself to me by healing me, 
1 will hereafter serve Him forever." God 
having done His part, it now remained 
for me to be faithful to my promise. I 
realized that my life hereafter would, in 
a large measure, depend on the way I kept 
my promise to Him. + 

I was healed Wednesday morning, and 
Friday the struggle began. I could not 
put away from my mind the fact that the 
Sabbath was coming, and if I was fully 
surrendered to God and claimed to be His 
servant forever, I must not refuse to keep 
His Sabbath. So, on my knees, I decided 
that, God helping me, I would keep my 
first Sabbath the next day. And so for 
the first time in my life I realized the bless- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 35 

ing promised in Isa. 56:2: "Blessed is the 
man that doeth this, and the son of man 
that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the 
Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his 
hand from doing any evil." 

However, my faith in God was to be 
tested, and the test came. Abraham was 
tested, and of him the Lord said, in Gen. 
26:5: "Because that Abraham obeyed my 
voice, and kept my charge, my command- 
ments, my statutes, and my laws." 



CHAPTER THREE 
LEAVING HOME 

My father said, after my sisters had 
become Seventh-day Adventists, that he knew 
one of his children would stay by him. I 
was the one he referred to. Somehow I 
seemed to be his pet, although I was by 
far the worst behaved child of all his off- 
spring. "How shall I tell my father about 
my decision ?" That was the great ques- 
tion with me. It seemed as though I could 
never gather enough strength to tell him. 
Oh, how tempted I was to give up! I al- 
most wished that I had not been raised up 
to life and health. Finally I said, ' 'Be- 
hind me Satan,' ' and, renewing my con- 
secration to God, promised by His help to 
go forward. 

At the dinner table that day, father 
and I were left alone to finish our repast, 
and, offering a silent prayer to God for 
help, I began to tell father of my decision. 
I told him how, having been restored to 
life, I felt that I owed all my service to 
God, and that I would keep the Sabbath. 

36 



TO CHRISTIANITY 37 

His expression changed at once. He turned 
pale and with a trembling voice said, "You 
never shall keep the Sabbath in my house." 
Then, as I tried to reason with him, I was 
told that he would a thousand times rather 
see me in the grave than to see me a Sev- 
enth-day Adventist, and that I would not 
be allowed to spend another night under 
his roof unless I gave up that notion. 

Father became so angry that his words 
and actions did not become him very well as 
a member of a Protestant church, much 
less an officer in that church. 

It seemed as though my heart would 
break. Never had my father spoken to me 
in this manner before. What should I do? 
Should I give up my hope in the Lord by 
disobeying His commission, and thus be al- 
lowed to stay in my home, or be true to God? 
The text of Scripture in Matthew 19:29 
sounded in my ears: "And every one that 
hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters, 
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or 
lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an 
hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting 
life." 

Oh, what a struggle! Why should I 
be called to this? "Father," I entreated, 



38 FROM INFIDELITY 

"I will be all the help to you I can and do all 
you desire, only let me serve God as I feel 
it is my duty to do, according to the teach- 
ing of the Bible." All in vain was my plea. 
I had to leave my home. Oh, what sorrow 
filled my heart! How soon came the test! 
Bitter indeed was the experience, but in the 
midst of the trial I learned a lesson of trust, 
and Jesus became nearer and dearer to me 
than ever before. 

Bitter tears rolled down my cheeks as 
I left home that afternoon, not knowing 
where to go. I had friends but did not want 
to tell them that my father had cast me off. 
One of my friends, however, insiste dthat I 
stay all night with him, which I did. I 
did not sleep very much, but spent much 
of the time in meditation and prayer. How 
precious was the word of God at this time. 

Sabbath morning I decided to return 
home and ask pardon of father for anything 
I had said or done that had offended him, 
and tell him I would be submissive to his 
will in everything that was not contrary to 
God's will. This I did. I found my fath- 
er very sad that day, and although at first 
surprised at my return and at my attitude, 
he soon became natural, and, thinking that 



TO CHRISTIANITY 39 

I had given up the truth, he was, for a short 
time, very happy. When I explained that 
I would do anything in my power, which 
would not conflict with the law of God, to 
please him, he asked me what I meant. Of 
course, I explained to him that the law of 
God included the fourth commandment. At 
this his countenance fell, and after a few 
moments he said he ' 'wished I was dead and 
under the ground." A glass containing some 
wine was then hurled at my head and in a 
voice of anger I was told to leave the house 
and not show my face again. 

No words are adequate to express the 
feelings of my heart. The question, "Shall 
I give up?" would arise within me. The 
old Devil would answer, "Yes, what's the 
use; you better give up." But a thought 
of my Saviour's love would again bring vic- 
tory. It seemed as if I could hear a voice 
saying, "You must drink the cup, but I will 
be with thee." 

"Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be 
not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will 
strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, 
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
righteousness. Behold, all they that were 
incensed against thee shall be ashamed and 



40 FROM INFIDELITY 

confounded; they shall be as nothing; and 
they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou 
shall seek them, and shall not find them, 
even them that contend with thee; they that 
war against thee shall be as nothing, and 
as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy 
God will hold thy right hand, saying unto 
thee, Fear not; I will help thee." Isa. 
41:10-13. 

I left home that night with a heavy heart, 
after a long season of prayer with my sis- 
ters. I walked most of the night as I could 
not sleep. Finally, toward morning I found 
a hay stack and, weary and exhausted, fell 
asleep and dreamed I saw a vision of future 
glory. I saw the glorified face of my Lord 
and the beautiful city of fine gold, the new 
Jerusalem. Rev. 21:18. How bitter was 
my disappointment when I awoke and found 
that it was all a dream and that I was still 
on this earth and would have to meet all 
its sorrows and bitter experiences. 

The sun was shining brightly that morn- 
ing and I praised God for it, and although 
broken hearted because I had to leave home 
and father, yet the knowledge of the fact 
that I followed the Lord's counsel and had 



TO CHRISTIANITY 41 

t>een obedient to His will, filled my soul with 
joy and peace. 

I soon found a place where I could work 
for my board, and I stayed there until Fri- 
day. When they learned that I wanted 
to keep the Sabbath they seemed to have no 
more use for me and I was told that I would 
have to leave. 

I left this place, taking what few be- 
longings I had, and went to look for another 
position. I passed through many sorrow- 
ful experiences at this time, which space will 
not allow me to relate. 

Finally I secured a position in Lyons, 
France. After I had been there about six 
months I received a telegram from my sis- 
ters stating that my father was very sick. 
I took the first train I could get, and the 
next morning found me at his bedside. He 
had been sick for several weeks and during 
his illness had had a new experience. He 
never had been converted before, though 
he had been a church member for years and 
occupied an official position in the church. 

While on his bed of sickness, he thought 
of the love of God as revealed in His pre- 
cious word, and he yielded to the drawing 
influence of the Holy Spirit. He had called 



42 FROM INFIDELITY 

for me many times, as he desired to see me 
before his death. 

When I arrived at his bedside, the doc- 
tors had given up all hopes of his recovery 
and it seemed as though God had spared 
his life in order that he might see me once 
more. After asking my pardon, he smiled, 
and, with tears of joy, bade me good-bye.. 
In a few moments the breath of life depart- 
ed. We laid him to rest in the cemetery in 
Nimes, France, where he awaits the call of 
the Life-giver. 

The death of my father was a severe 
blow to us all, and these experiences were 
indeed bitter waters; but as Christ made 
the water sweet by His presence in the wil- 
derness, so His presence sweetened these 
bitter waters. We found His word more 
precious than ever, and sorrowed not as oth- 
ers who were without hope. We were com- 
forted by the words found in 1 Thess. 4:16, 
17: "For the Lord Himself shall descend 
from heaven with a shout, with the voice 
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: 
and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then 
we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, 



TO CHRISTIANITY 43 

to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we 
ever be with the Lord." 

When the trumpet shall sound in the 
near future and the dead in Christ shall arise 
from their graves, I sincerely believe that 
my father will come forth with them, for 
before he went to his rest he was at peace 
with God and was a Sabbath-keeper, having 
kept the last two Sabbaths of his life. 



CHAPTER FOUR 
LEAVING FRANCE 

My father had one maiden sister, Miss 
Rosalie Passebois, who had lived with us 
for years. From a child she had been in 
service for others. The last family for whom 
she worked was very rich. She was the house- 
keeper in this home for many years. Finally, 
through the death of all the members of this 
family, she came into possession of their home 
and wealth. 

About this time my father, who was then 
ailing from rheumatism, was persuaded by 
his sister to give up his business and live on 
her income. She told my father that when 
she died, all her property, which was worth 
about two hundred thousand dollars would 
go to his children. 

Soon after the death of those whom she 
had loved and cared for so long, my aunt 
became godmother to a boy. This boy in 
later years took advantage of her and 
squandered all her money; thus we received 
very little assistance from her. 

Soon after the death of my father, El- 
der H. P. Holser visited us and advised us 

44 



TO CHRISTIANITY 45 

to leave France and go to Battle Creek, Mich., 
and prepare ourselves for workers in the 
cause of Christ. 

His proposition was carefully considered, 
and finally, after earnest prayer and a firm 
conviction that the Lord was leading us, 
my sisters and I decided to go to Battle 
Creek. 

Our aunt, who had been in the present 
truth for several years, furnished us the 
means for transportation. Soon the time 
came when we said good-bye to all the loved 
ones and left Nimes, France, for an unknown 
country. Like Abraham, when we heard 
the call to leave kindred, tongue and people 
and go to a land which the Lord would show 
us, we were willing to go. 

Our company was composed of a friend 
of ours, Mrs. Valerie LaPorte, who had ac- 
cepted the truth in Southern France, my 
sisters, the Misses Augustine and Herminie 
Passebois, and myself. 

We arrived in New York after a stormy 
voyage and were very glad to see land again. 
Oh, how strange everything looked to us and 
how queer the people seemed! We waited 
in New York for a train that would take us 
to Battle Creek. Our journey westward 



46 FROM INFIDELITY 

was a very pleasant one and on the nine- 
teenth of December, 1892, we arrived at our 
destination. From the station the cab man 
took us to the famous Battle Creek Sanita- 
rium, where we met with several people who 
could speak the French language. We soon 
became acquainted and those who could not 
speak with us tried in every way possible 
to make things pleasant for us. 

Of course we had to learn the language 
and it meant hard work. My sisters took 
the nurse's course and I worked for my room 
and board and a small salary, and studied 
the language all I could in the meantime. 

At first the time passed rapidly as every- 
thing was new and interesting, but after a 
while it became monotonous and a lonely 
feeling came over me. Though surrounded 
by Christian workers and Christian people 
of all kinds, for weeks and months I longed 
for some one to speak to me about my soul. 
I finally became discouraged and was in a 
backslidden condition. I had lost my hap- 
piness and joy of service and longed for some- 
thing, I knew not what. I felt a leanness 
of soul. Oh! How I would have enjoyed 
to have some one come and ask me about 
my Christian experience; and offer to pray 



TO CHRISTIANITY 47 

with me, but weeks and months passed and 
my longings seemed all in vain. 

One night as I returned to my room, 
discouraged and depressed, after a hard day's 
work, I threw myself down on my bed and 
began to pray to God for relief. It seemed 
as though I could not pray. Finally, after 
a long struggle, I arose from my knees, and, 
taking the Bible, I turned to the fifty-first 
Psalm, and, placing my hand upon it, told 
God that the prayer of David was my prayer 
and if He would restore to me the joy of His 
salvation and uphold me by His free Spirit, 
I would do anything He wished me to do. 
My prayer was heard and I received a great 
blessing. But the Devil would not leave 
me alone; he knew that I was determined 
to serve God and he was also determined 
to have me serve him. 

Friday morning I arose very happy for 
the victory I had won, and the joy of sal- 
vation again filled my soul. How happy 
I felt when the sun set behind the hill and 
again the memorial of my Creator had come; 
the Sabbath had come and with joy and de- 
light I entered into God's rest. 

"There remaineth therefore a rest to 
the people of God. For he that is entered 



48 FROM INFIDELITY 

into his rest, he also hath ceased from his 
own works, as God did from his." Heb. 
4:9, 10. 

At 7:30 the Sanitarium family gathered 
in the gymnasium. Here, after a few words 
of exhortation, the service was thrown open 
for praise and testimony. Many stood up 
and praised the Lord. 

My heart was full of gratitude and praise 
to my Heavenly Father for His love to me, 
and I could hear a voice saying to me, "It 
is your duty to get up and tell what the Lord 
has done for you." Then the Devil would 
say, "They will not understand what you 
say in your broken English; you will make 
mistakes and the people will laugh." 

The scripture in Isaiah 12:4, 5, kept 
coming to my mind: 

"And in that day shall ye say, Praise 
the Lord, call upon His name, declare His 
doings among the people, make mention that 
His name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; 
for He hath done excellent things: this is 
known in all the earth." The struggle with- 
in me was so intense that part of the time 
I did not know what was going on around 
me. I would feel first hot, and then cold. 

At last I found myself upon my feet* 



TO CHRISTIANITY 49 

I was shaking all over but was determined 
to win. For the first time I testified in pub- 
lic and in the English language. Many were 
surprised to hear my voice, and the Lord 
not only gave me a blessing, but blessed oth- 
ers through that testimony. The moment 
I opened my mouth the struggle was over, 
and with my heart filled with love to God r 
I repeated Isaiah 12:2,3: 

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will 
trust and not be afraid ; for the Lord Jehovah 
is my strength and my song; he also is be- 
come my salvation. Therefore with joy shall 
ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.* ' 

"This poor man cried and the Lord 
heard him and saved him out of all his trou- 
bles." Ps. 34:6. 

Sabbath morning, as I was on my 
way to church, a young man who had been 
at the Sanitarium for several months and 
who was also on his way to church, overtook 
me. He thanked me for the words spoken 
in the meeting the night before. I soon 
found out that this brother was in the same 
spiritual condition as I had been, and, with 
God's help, I gave him the remedy. After 
the sermon I invited him to my room and we 
sought the Lord together. This young man 



50 FROM INFIDELITY 

reconsecrated himself to the service of God 
and promised me that from that time on he 
would live for the Lord and engage in His 
service. He has since become a faithful 
worker in the cause. 

The Lord had done so much for me that 
His love filled my heart to overflowing. So 
I felt I must pass it on to others. 



CHAPTER FIVE 

MY BAPTISM 

One beautiful Sabbath morning as I 
was in the woods, seeking God, on my knees, 
I heard a voice saying, "You have not been 
baptized!" For a moment it startled me; 
then, thinking about what I had heard, I 
took my Bible and, by referring to the con- 
cordance, read what God's word said con- 
cerning baptism. I found that Christ gave 
the following instruction : 

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father 
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost : teach- 
ing them to observe all things whatsoever 
I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with 
you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
Matt. 28:19, 20. 

The apostles also taught that men should 
be baptized. 

"Then said Peter unto them, Repent 
and be baptized every one of you in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and 
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 
Acts 2:38. 

51 



52 FROM INFIDELITY 

Then I found that John baptized in 
Aenon because " there was much water there." 
Hence I perceived that he immersed the peo- 
ple instead of merely sprinkling them. 

"And John also was baptizing in Aenon, 
near to Salim, because there was much water 
there; and they came and were baptized.' * 
John 3:23. 

I had read in Ephesians that there was 
only one baptism, so I wanted to be sure of 
the right kind. 

"There is one body and one Spirit, even 
as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; 
one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Eph. 4:4, 
5. 

Then I read Matt. 3:16 and Acts 8:36-38, 

The following questions came to my 
mind and I found the answers given in the 
blessed Book: — 

Is there any record of the Spirit, which 
was promised to those who repent and are 
baptized, being given? 

"Now when all the people were baptized 
it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, 
and praying, the heaven was opened and 
the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape 
like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from 
heaven which said, Thou art my beloved 



TO CHRISTIANITY 53 

Son; in thee I am well pleased." Luke 3:21, 22. 

"Then Simon himself believed also; and 
when he was baptized, he continued with 
Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles 
and signs which were done." Acts 8:13. 

"Then laid they their hands on them, 
and they received the Holy Ghost." Acts 8:17. 

Was the Spirit ever given before baptism ? 

"While Peter yet spake these words, 
the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard 
the word." Acts 10:44. 

Was it sufficient to be baptized with the 
Spirit? 

"Can any man forbid water, that these 
should not be baptized, which have receiv- 
ed the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he 
commanded them to be baptized in the name 
of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry 
certain days." Acts 10:47, 48. 

What did John the Baptist and the 
apostles teach should precede baptism? 

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, 
and be baptized every one of you in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and 
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 
Acts 2:38. 

What must precede baptism? 

"He that believeth and is baptized shall 



54 FROM INFIDELITY 

be saved; but he that believeth not shall be 
damned." Mark 16:16. 

"And as they went on their way, they 
came unto a certain water; and the eunuch 
said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me 
to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou 
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. 
And he answered and said, I believe that 
Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Acts 8:36, 37. 

As an infant I could not repent; there- 
fore, the fact that I was sprinkled three times 
did not satisfy my conscience. Then the 
Bible does not teach baptism by sprinkling. 

I continued the study to find out all 
I could about baptism, and I found that it 
was a memorial of the death and resurrec- 
tion of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

"Know ye not that so many of us as were 
baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into 
His death? Therefore we are buried with 
Him by baptism into death; that like as 
Christ was raised up from the dead by the 
glory of the Father, even so we also should 
walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:3, 4. 

"Buried with Him in baptism, wherein 
also ye are risen with Him through the faith 
of the operation of God, who hath raised Him 
from the dead." Col. 2:12. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 55 

My heart began to burn within me, and 
it seemed as though I could not wait any 
longer before being baptized. So I walked 
down to the home of Elder Durland, the pas- 
tor of the Battle Creek church, and I asked 
him the question which the eunuch asked 
Philip. Acts 8:36. 

That same afternoon I was buried by 
the waters of baptism into Christ's death 
and resurrected into a newness of life, thus 
putting on Christ. Gal. 3:27. 

Soon after this Tom Mackey came to 
Battle Creek and held a series of services 
on missionary work. He was a man who had 
spent forty-four years of his life in sin and 
debauch. Several times, while under the 
influence of liquor, he had threatened to kill 
his wife and little daughter. But now he 
was a changed man, having been converted, 
and had become a powerful evangelist. 

As he told of his experiences and work 
in missions I could remain idle no longer, so 
I began to visit people in their homes and 
to impart to them what I had learned about 
God and His word. 

This watered my soul so much that I 
soon did not wish to do anything else but 
visit the people and talk and pray with them. 



56 FROM INFIDELITY 

I began holding cottage meetings, giving 
Bible readings, etc. 

While attending Battle Creek College, 
I spent considerable time in this kind of work 
and I felt a strong desire to devote all my 
time to missionary work. 

Soon after meeting Tom Mackey, the 
Lord opened the way so that I could engage 
in mission work with him in the city of Chi- 
cago, and I had some very precious ex- 
periences in this work. 

One night as I was crossing the bridge 
on my way to the mission, I heard some one 
behind me; there was also some one in front 
of me. I had no time to prepare for what 
awaited me and was struck such a blow on 
the face that it almost rendered me uncon- 
scious. I lost no money, however, as I had 
none with me. 

While in Battle Creek, I learned some 
precious lessons, as I went out among the 
people, and the Lord blessed my efforts. The 
experiences helped me in my work in Chicago, 
and as I saw some souls saved, I was en- 
couraged to go forward. I was willing to 
submit to any kind of ill-treatment if I could 
only see precious souls turn to God. I could 
understand how Paul felt after his conver- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 57 

sion when he said, "For I could wish that 
myself were accursed from Christ for my 
brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh/' 
Rom. 9:3. 

On one occasion I called at a home which 
I had previously visited, and as I reached 
the door I heard screaming. I rapped and 
again heard screaming and a cry for help. 
I then opened the door and what a sight met 
my eyes! There stood a woman with blood- 
stained clothes and her hair down over her 
face; two children were crying in a corner of 
the room. The father was under the in- 
fluence of liquor which had been sold to him 
under the covering protection of License; he 
had a butcher knife in his hand and was about 
to kill the one he had promised to love and 
care for. Before I realized the danger I was 
incurring upon myself, I seized the knife and 
disarmed him, whereupon the man, who 
weighed twice as much as I did, picked me 
•up and threw me out into the middle of the 
street. My back was injured, and I was taken 
to the hospital and cared for. The man was 
arrested and placed behind the bars. When 
my back was well enough to permit my going 
out, I went to the prison to see the man. I 



58 FROM INFIDELITY 

talked and prayed with him until he gave 
himself to God. 

Although I suffered much pain for sev- 
eral weeks as the result of being thrown on 
the street, when this brother gave his heart 
to God and began to keep his command- 
ments, I felt well repaid. As I watched him 
grow in grace and saw the happiness of the 
family, it filled my heart with joy. I would 
have been glad to repeat this experience if 
I could see another one give his heart to the 
Saviour. I could then, as never before, en- 
ter into the joy of the Lord: I could now com- 
prehend Hebrews 12:1-3. How happy I was 
to be in God's service and see souls accept 
the Saviour and walk in His footsteps! 

While in Chicago, it was my privilege 
to attend the Moody School and learn meth- 
ods of personal labor. I put these into prac- 
tice and never will forget the precious les- 
sons learned as I labored for the souls of men. 
I had many interesting as well as encour- 
aging experiences while laboring for fallen 
humanity in that city. 

Paul, in Romans 1:16, says, "I am not 
ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the 
power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth." 



TO CHRISTIANITY 5* 

I, like Paul, could, by personal experi- 
ence and the experiences of others, testify 
to the power of God to save from sin and to 
keep from sin. I became acquainted with 
people in that large city who had been in the 
depths of sin and degradation. In them- 
selves, they were unable to live a sober, 
honest life, but after repenting of their sins 
and giving themselves into the hands of God, 
they demonstrated in their lives that the 
gospel was the power of God to save from sin. 



CHAPTER SIX 

CALLED TO STATEN ISLAND— DEATH 
OF A DEAR FRIEND. 

While in Chicago, I received a call from 
Dr. J. H. Kellogg to go to Staten Island. Dr. 
Funk had placed his hotel there at the dis- 
posal of Dr. Kellogg to be used for a san- 
itarium. 

While I would rather have stayed in 
Chicago and labored for souls in active gos- 
pel work, my funds had become low and I 
accepted the call to Staten Island. 

In March, 1897, I went to the Staten 
Island Sanitarium, which was in charge of 
Dr. C. C. Nicola. 

The institution was to be opened the 
first of May and we were there a month in 
advance that we might prepare for the 
opening. 

During my stay at this sanitarium I 
went one day to New York City to buy some 
things for a wedding, for, while attending 
the Battle Creek College, I had met a young 
lady to whom I became engaged and the 
time set for the marriage was drawing near. 

60 



TO CHRISTIANITY 6t 

While I was in New York a telegram came to 
the sanitarium for me, announcing the death 
of the young lady. 

The telegram was given to me by Miss 
Elizabeth Prince, as the lady who received 
it shrank from the task and finally persuaded 
Miss Prince to deliver it. 

At this news, it seemed as though I had 
lost all I had in the world and that life was 
not worth living. Once more I was made to 
realize the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The 
grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the 
word of our God shall stand forever." Isaiah 
40:8. 

Every one in the institution seemed to 
take especial interest in me and did all they 
could to cheer me up and make me forget 
my sorrows. Miss Prince did her share. 
She knew my sorrow perhaps better than any 
one else, as she was with me when I read the 
telegram and saw how deeply I was stricken. 

When she planned to go home for a va- 
cation I was invited to go also. Mr. and 
Mrs. Prince gave me a cordial welcome and 
I enjoyed my visit at the farm house as much 
as I could under the circumstances. 



CHAPTER SEVEN 
FULTON STREET MISSION 

When the season was over, and the Sta- 
ten Island Sanitarium was closed, Dr. and 
Mrs. Nicola, two nurses and I moved to Brook- 
lyn. Here I was for a time left in charge 
of the Fulton Street Mission, of which Dr. 
Nicola was the superintendent. There was 
a kitchen connected with the mission and 
many were the people who came and re- 
ceived physical as well as spiritual help. 

Here as nowhere else we could see the 
effect of that awful curse, the liquor traffic. 
Well educated men, — graduates from uni- 
versities, ministers of the gospel and pro- 
fessional men of all classes, as well as illiter- 
ate men and those from every walk of life, 
came to that mission in their sin and degra- 
dation. Many had once stood high in so- 
ciety, but after tasting the poisonous cup, 
terrible were the results. Some had the 
appetite aroused by indulging at wedding 
feasts; others by partaking of food which 
had been prepared with brandy; others 
thought they could drink a little and leave 

62 



TO CHRISTIANITY 63 

it alone, but Alas! the treacherous demon 
had won and these men had ruined their bod- 
ies and well nigh lost their souls. Many 
of them were fearful sights to behold. They 
were good object lessons of what liquor can 
do for a man. 

The insatiable monster, intemperance, 
Is indeed, a remorseless tyrant. "Who hath 
woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath con- 
tentions? W T ho hath babbling? Who hath 
wounds without a cause? Who hath red- 
ness of eyes? They that tarry long at the 
wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look 
not thou upon the wine when it is red, when 
it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth 
Itself aright. At the last it biteth like a 
serpent and stingeth like an adder. Thine 
eyes shall behold strange women, and thine 
heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, 
thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the 
midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the 
top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt 
thou say, and I was not sick; they have beat- 
en me, and I felt it not; when shall I awake? 
I will seek it yet again." Prov. 23:29-35. 
Through all the years that these startling 
questions have been propounded by the Sa- 
cred Book of God, the suffering, wretched 



64 FROM INFIDELITY 

victims from within the shadow of the bottle 
stand as the answer. And the tens of thou- 
sands of this doomed, unfortunate host, 
gathered from wretched hovels, cheerless 
garrets and hospitals, victims of rage, mur- 
der and suicide, who fall annually into drun- 
kards' graves, all are eternally lost; for one 
writing with an inspired pen has declared 
that drunkards shall not "inherit the king- 
dom of God." The dark dismal shadow 
of the bottle, therefore, stretches even be- 
yond this world into the very regions of hell 
itself. 

"A professional gentleman, who was ac- 
customed to take his morning glass, stepped 
into a saloon, and going up to the bar, call- 
ed for whiskey. A seedy man stepped up 
to him and said: 'I say, squire, can't you 
ask an unfortunate fellow to join you?' 

"He was annoyed by the man's famil- 
iarity, and roughly said, 'I am not in the 
habit of drinking with tramps.' 

fi 'You need not be so cranky and high- 
minded, my friend. I venture to say that 
I am of just as good a family as you are, have 
just as good an education, and before I took 
to drink, was just as respectable as you are. 
What is more, I always knew how to act 



TO CHRISTIANITY 65 

the gentleman. Take my word for it, you 
stick to whisky, and it will bring you to just 
the same place as I am.' 

1 'Struck with his words, the gentleman 
set down his glass and turned to look at him. 
His eyes were bloodshot, his face bloated, 
his boots mismated, his clothing filthy. 
" 'Was it drink that made you like this?' 
" 'Yes, it was; and it will bring you to 
the same place if you stick to it.' 

"Picking up his untouched glass, he pour- 
ed its contents upon the floor, and said, 
'Then it is time I quit,' and left the saloon, 
never to enter it again. 

"We speak of the horrors of war — and 
God knows there are horrors enough, — car- 
nage and bloodshed and terrible mutila- 
tion. There are crippled men, empty coat 
sleeves, weeping, desolate widows, and hun- 
gry, homeless orphans, together with enor- 
mous debts and grinding taxation. But all 
these fail to compare in their horrors and woes 
with the victims of the overshadowing curse 
of rum. Rum debauches more homes, makes 
more misery and anguish, more pauperism, 
crime and murder, and more victims of self- 
destruction than war ever has." — Shadow 
of the Bottle. 



66 FROM INFIDELITY 

Again and again men have made a start 
on the Christian road, in a mission, and bit- 
terly cried over their sins; then, as they 
passed the doors of a saloon, friends who 
called them, or the smell of the liquor, 
proved too great a temptation for them and 
they fell. 

I will relate right here the terrible ex- 
perience which I had with two men who came 
to our mission, and after receiving help, fell 
backward. 

Mr. Boll was a man of about forty years 
of age; for years he had been addicted to 
the habit of drink. One night he came to our 
Fulton Street Mission and was convinced 
of his sin by the Spirit of God: falling on 
his knees he cried bitterly for the forgive- 
ness of his sin, and the Lord heard his prayer 
and changed the man's heart. It was a source 
of great joy to all his friends and acquaint- 
ances to see the change in the man. 

Mr. Hill was a younger man and he 
also had been addicted to the drink habit, 
and had met with a change and was trying 
to serve God. 

Mr. Boll lived only a few houses away 
from our home and about three blocks from 
the mission. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 67 

One morning he started as usual for his 
work and during that morning, the parties 
for whom he worked gave him, at his request, 
a glass of water to quench his thirst. These 
people knew that for weeks he had been a 
sober man and though they had tried time 
and again to give him liquor, he always had 
refused, saying he never would drink any 
more. This was their chance; the fatal glass 
of water was doctored; and after drinking 
it, Mr. Boll was not any more the same man; 
fire had arisen in his body that had to be 
quenched by more of the accursed drink, so 
he went to the saloon below and drank more 
of that accursed beverage. 

'Woe to him that gives his neighbor 
drink." That night Mr. Boll did not come 
to the mission, neither did he go home; his 
poor wife was worried very much concern- 
ing his whereabouts and his condition. 

Several days went by, and no one seemed 
to know where he was. Mr. Hill had not 
been seen at the mission for a day or two, 
and upon enquiry we found that he had also 
been overcome by drink and had fallen, and 
that he was at his home under the influence 
of liquor. When we heard of this I went 
to his home to visit him and talk with him. 



68 FROM INFIDELITY 

I knocked at the door several times, but 
no answer came ; hearing voices inside, I opened 
the door and what a sight met my eyes. 
It was horrible; Mr. Hill was lying down on 
his bed while Mr. Boll was standing by the 
bedside. The surroundings of the room and 
bed revealed at once that liquor had done 
its best; each had a glass of beer and Mr. 
Boll was standing by Mr. Hill with a butcher 
knife in one hand. They were surprised 
at my appearance. 

I was told that this was their last feast; 
and that they had decided a short time be- 
fore, that, since both had fallen, they would 
not live any longer; but, after drinking the 
last glass of beer they had on hand, they 
would kill each other. Mr. Boll was to kill 
Mr. Hill and then he in turn was to kill Mr. 
Boll. 

Providentially I came in, and com- 
menced to talk with them; Mr. Boll said they 
would do what I advised; then they wished 
to share some of their drink with me; I took 
the jug and emptied its contents into the 
sink. I then persuaded Mr. Boll to follow 
me out onto the street. When once on the 
sidewalk Mr. Boll, who had taken a smoke 
before leaving the house, took his pipe from 



TO CHRISTIANITY 69 

his mouth, and out of respect for me, threw 
it into the street; a passer-by picked it up 
and then trouble began. Mr. Boll was go- 
ing to thrash the man for picking up the pipe, 
saying, that he would not let anyone smoke 
in my presence. The man concluded that 
he had better go on his way. 

On the way to the Mission we met with 
a street car, and Mr. Boll was determined 
to stay on the track; we barely escaped being 
run over; the motorman applied the brake 
and stopped as soon as possible, but I re- 
ceived a push on the arm. 

We finally reached the Mission, and here 
we treated Mr. Boll. We watched over him 
and kept him locked in a room to prevent 
his going again to the saloon. While I was 
sitting in my office, I heard a noise in the 
basement of the Mission, and as I went to 
investigate I found that Mr. Boll, who weigh- 
ed over two hundred and fifty pounds, had 
climbed up on the coal pile, and was try- 
ing to get outside through the coal shute; 
his weight had brought the coal down, and 
there he lay with his face in the coal. 

After he had become sober, we had the 
most discouraged man on our hands that I 
have ever seen ; he felt as if there never would 



70 FROM INFIDELITY 

be any more help for him; we pointed him 
to the Lamb of God who taketh away the 
sin of the world, and at last he again surren- 
dered to God and became a faithful worker 
for the Master. Mr. Hill died a few weeks 
later of delirium tremens. 

Paul in Rom. 1:16, says, "I am not 
ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the 
power of God unto salavation to every one 
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to 
the Greek." This same power can save you 
and me from other evil habits that are just 
as bad and just as mean as the drink habit. 
And with Paul we can say, ' 'There is there- 
fore now no condemnation to them which 
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the 
flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1. 



CHAPTER EIGHT 

POWER OF THE GOSPEL AND A TEST 
OF FAITH 

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ; for it is the power of God unto sal- 
vation to every one that believeth; to the 
Jew first, and also to the Greek." Rom. 1 :16. 

Salvation is for all. There is power to 
save from drink and from all other evil habits 
and everything that would pull us down. 

1 Cor. 6:19, 20, says, "What? Know 
ye not that your body is the temple of the 
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have 
of God, and ye are not your own? For ye 
are bought with a price; therefore glorify 
God in your body, and in your spirit, which 
are God's." Yet people will put things into 
that temple to poison it. Why not take a 
herd of swine into the church. It would be 
a good place to keep them warm in the win- 
ter. "Horrors!" Some good Christian cries ; 
and yet the same Christian perhaps eats the 
dead carcass of the swine and thus fills the 

71 



72 FROM INFIDELITY 

temple of the Holy Ghost with all its poison. 
"They that sanctify themselves, and purify 
themselves in the gardens behind one tree 
in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the 
abomination, and the mouse, shall be con- 
sumed together, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:17. 

Some great temperance workers, while 
they condemn the drunkard's glass, allow 
themselves to become intoxicated with tea, 
coffee, etc. They are temperate in some 
things but not in all, by any means. Some 
lose their temper and call it nervousness; 
but, of course, when a drunkard is angry, 
liquor is the cause, we all know that; why 
shouldn't we know the other also? Let us 
be temperate in all things and eat and drink 
to the glory of God! 

"Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or 
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 
1 Cor. 10:31. 

While engaged in the mission work our 
faith was often tested and tried but God 
proved true to His word and never failed us. 
Christ said to His disciples, "Have faith in 
God." "Faith is the victory that over- 
cometh the world." 

On Christmas eve, 1897, a fierce snow 
storm swept over New York City. Hun- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 73 

dreds of men applied to our mission for re- 
lief. They came with frozen hands, ears, 
noses, etc. Many were penniless and help- 
less and were depending on what they could 
get at the mission to keep them from freez- 
ing and starving 

With the prospect of about five hun- 
dred people applying to our mission on Christ- 
mas day for a bowl of hot soup and a piece 
of bread, we felt in need of help. All day 
we had walked from place to place to secure 
the aid of some one in lifting the load. We 
were in need of means to buy coal and wood 
to keep the mission room warm; and beans 
and bread to satisfy the hunger of these un- 
fortunate men. But after searching all day 
in vain, I returned to the mission to preach; 
we had received no assistance whatsoever. 

What were we to do? The coal bin was 
about empty. There we were with not 
enough coal to last over Christmas, no bread, 
no beans for soup, etc. Oh! What could 
be done? How could we close our doors 
and turn all these people out into the streets 
during this cold and stormy weather. It 
was hard to even think of such a thing. Oh, 
how we prayed to God that He might open 



74 FROM INFIDELITY 

some way that we could supply the needs 
of these people. 

We retired that night with heavy hearts, 
in view of the fact that before morning the 
coal would probably be all gone, the mis- 
sion room cold, and the kitchen empty. But 
the Lord God, who created all things, knows 
all our needs and has promised to supply 
them, according to His riches in glory by 
Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19. 

Christmas morning, while we were yet 
in bed, we were awakened by some one rap- 
ping at our door. When we opened it we 
found, to our great surprise, Brother C. He 
said that during the night he had been im- 
pressed that we were in trouble and needed 
help, and he came early that he might do 
what he could to assist us. He gave us ten dol- 
lars. Then we went around to different coal 
yards and several tons of coal were given 
to us. It being Christmas, they could not 
deliver it, but we were given the permission 
to send after what we wished. So about 
fifty of the men from the mission carried 
the coal in sacks on their backs. A grocer 
also gave us a barrel of beans and a baker 
gave us some bread. 

That afternoon Mr. Funk called on us. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 75 

He said he had felt as if we might be in need.. 
As he was about to leave, he handed us sixty 
dollars. Before the mission doors were closed 
that night several more came to render us aid. 
Thus the Lord on this occasion, as well as 
on many similar ones, supplied all our needs, 
and so strengthened our faith in Him. 

While still working at the mission, one 
day a gentleman asked me to help him find 
his daughter, who had been absent from 
home for several months. The man related 
the following story: 

' 'My daughter, a beautiful girl of nine- 
teen years of age, had for several months, 
been keeping company with a young man, — 

a member of the church and 

Sunday school. Apparently he was very 
devoted to his church. One evening he 
came and asked my daughter to accompany 
him to an entertainment in a certain home, 
and they were to return by ten o'clock, at 
the latest. But they never returned, and 
they have not been seen or heard from since 
that time. Money has not been spared and 
a diligent search has been made, but all in 
vain. No trace of them has been found." 

I promised him that we would do all 
we could to find the girl. I was furnished 



76 FROM INFIDELITY 

with a photograph of her, taken a short time 
before her disappearance. 

After searching for some time, I learned 
that she had been seen in a public house in 
the Bowery. This encouraged us and one 
night, while the father was waiting on a street 
corner with a carriage, I went from one house 
of ill fame to another, until I found the girl. 
After I showed her the picture of her father 
and mother, she gained confidence in me, 
and was willing to do anything that I sug- 
gested as a means of escape. By means of 
daring acts, she was taken out of this public 
house and led to where her father was wait- 
ing for us. He was overjoyed to have her 
by his side once more, and he took her home 
where her mother was anxiously watching. 

It was two o'clock in the morning be- 
fore we reached their home, after that dar- 
ing rescue. The girl was very scantily clothed 
when she made her escape, but the Lord pro- 
tected us most wonderfully and brought us 
safely on our way. 

The reunion that morning was a very 
happy one, when the father and mother re- 
ceived their daughter back into their home, 
after months of sorrow and bitter tears. 

The parents learned from the girl that 



TO CHRISTIANITY 77 

she had been taken to a refreshment parlor 
by her pretended friend, and had been given 
something which rendered her unconscious. 
When she regained consciousness she found 
herself imprisoned in a house she knew not 
where, without clothes and without a friend. 

That night she was visited by a stranger, 
and, despite her tears, entreaties and oppo- 
sition, she was ill-treated and abused. Then 
she realized that she had fallen a victim to 
the white slavers. How often she desired 
that death might release her from this hor- 
rible life! All discouraged, she had given 
up all hopes of ever being able to see her fath- 
er and mother again, or of ever being a free 
girl. It was then that we came to her rescue. 

For the protection of the innocent, for 
the safe-guarding of the weak, and for the 
warning of the tempted, let an army of loyal 
workers in the name of God and humanity, 
enlist in the war against the white slave 
traffic, for the safety and purity of our girls. 

Girls! Look out for the pitfalls! Moth- 
ers and fathers! You can't afford to let your 
young daughters leave home with strangers un- 
less you want to send them to ruin. Train them 
right at home, watch over them, protect 
them, and know for yourselves where they 



78 FROM INFIDELITY 

are going and with whom they are associating. 

It was while engaged in the mission work 
that Miss Elizabeth Prince and the writer 
decided that, by uniting their efforts they 
-might accomplish more and do better ser- 
vice for the Lord. Accordingly, after cer- 
tain preparations, on the twenty-first of 
December, 1898, we were united in the holy 
bond of matrimony. We were told by sev- 
eral that it was a mistake; that the end was 
very near and people should not marry; to 
this class of objectors I was always ready 
to quote the words of my Lord, ' 'Occupy 
till I come." 

Elder Place, who was then the presi- 
dent of the Atlantic Conference of Seventh- 
day Adventists, tied the knot for us. 

Soon after our marriage we met with a 
financial loss of five thousand dollars, it be- 
ing stolen from us. This was a very severe 
blow, and it left us without any money, as 
I had been giving my time to the Mission 
that winter. 

Our experiences in the Mission were not 
always connected with drunkards and out- 
casts, for some came who were trying to lead 
a good life in the worldly sense of the word, 
but were without Chirst or were discouraged. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 79 

I remember one case especially. A young- 
Swedish gentleman, not much more than a 
boy, strayed into the Mission one night. 
He afterwards came to see us during the day. 
He seemed to enjoy taking his meals there 
and attending the services which were held 
every evening. We studied the Bible to- 
gether, and finally one night, he gave him- 
self to the Lord and peace and happiness 
filled his soul. He went to the Seventh-day 
Adventist Sanitarium in Michigan to take 
the medical course and is now a doctor and 
is doing a great work for the Lord. 

At another time a debauchee, who was 
a wreck of a man, came into the Mission. 
His clothes were old and shabby; his face 
and hands were dirty; he had a red nose and 
was an awful sight to behold. At first he 
was determined to disturb the service, but 
soon fell into a deep sleep. After the ser- 
vice was over, we talked with him, gave him 
a bed and kept him for several days. When 
free from the influence of liquor he showed 
good training, refinement and a good educa- 
tion. He confessed that he was a graduate 
of Harvard University, and had been a cler- 
gyman, but once, at a wedding feast, had 
tasted the cup. This created a desire for 



80 FROM INFIDELITY 

more, and he gradually indulged in it, little 
by little, until one day he disgraced himself. 
Then he left his once happy home and went 
away into the slums of the great metropolis 
and gave himself up, fully, to a drunkard's 
life. 

"Woe unto him that giveth his neigh- 
bor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him 
and makest him drunken also, that thou 
mayest look on their nakedness !" Hab. 2:15. 

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is rag- 
ing: and whosoever is deceived thereby is 
not wise." Prov. 20:1. 

One evening, during a service in the 
Mission, the Spirit of the living God touched 
this man's heart, and he cried unto God for 
pardon, claiming God's promise to the back- 
slider. He began a new life in Christ Jesus. 
Then he told us of his wife and three children, 
whom he had left years before. With the 
help of God he began to work, and as soon 
as he had earned sufficient money, went back 
to his home and began life anew. 

Truly, we can say like Paul, "The Gos- 
pel is the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believeth." Rom. 1:16. This 
power is the power of the love of Christ. It 
works a transformation in the heart, — a trans- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 81 

formation of character. This is the sure 
result of union with Christ. When He abides 
within, the whole nature is transformed. 
Christ's Spirit and His love soften the heart, 
subdue the soul and raise the thoughts and 
desires toward God and heaven. 



CHAPTER NINE 

CALLED TO SWITZERLAND. THE 
VOYAGE 

At the General Conference of Seventh- 
day Adventists, held in South Lancaster, 
Mass., in February, 1899, Elder H. P. Hoi- 
ser presented my name for work in Europe, 
and a recommendation of that conference 
was to the effect that I make Switzerland 
my field of labor. 

Accordingly, after making the call a sub- 
ject of prayer, and being satisfied that the 
Lord was calling us to Europe, we accepted 
the call. 

After spending a few clays at Mrs. Pas- 
sebois' home in Amherst, N. H., we returned 
to Brooklyn, N. Y., and visited friends for 
a few days, until the time of our departure 
for Switzerland. 

For six months previous to our appoint- 
ment to a foreign field, I had given my work 

82 



TO CHRISTIANITY 83 

free of charge, to the Mission, and my funds 
were now low. 

The Mission Board furnished our tickets 
for the journey, but nothing was said to us 
about money. I knew the call came from 
God and I felt sure He would provide for 
our needs. However, I was not so sure about 
the strength of Mrs. Passebois' faith, and 
fearing she might decide not to go if I told 
her, I kept her in ignorance of the fact that 
our money had all been used, excepting fifty 
cents. 

As I asked myself the question "What 
shall we do to meet the incidental expenses 
of the voyage?" these words came to my 
mind: "For every beast of the forest is mine, 
and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know 
all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild 
beasts of the field are mine. If I were hun- 
gry, I would not tell thee: for the world is 
mine, and the fullness thereof." Ps. 50:10-12. 

"But my God shall supply all your needs 
according to His riches in glory by Christ 
Jesus." Phil. 4:19. 

As the time arrived for us to begin our 
voyage, we went on board the steamer. Only 
a few minutes remained before we would sail 
away from American soil and be borne upon 



84 FROM INFIDELITY 

the bosom of the great Atlantic Ocean. Af- 
ter our friends had bid us good bye and left 
us, our deaf Brother C, who had been a great 
help to us at the Mission the Christmas be- 
fore, came to visit us a few minutes just be- 
fore the steamer closed its gates. He made 
inquiry concerning our welfare, and as he 
bid us good-bye, he also asked how we were 
situated financially. When he learned that 
I had only fifty cents, he emptied his pocket 
book into my hands, giving me ten dollars 
in all, to help us on our journey, and saying 
he wished it was more. 

A few weeks before we left New York 
City, I had become acquainted with two la- 
dies who were contemplating taking a trip 
abroad. They intended to sail on the same 
steamer as we. One of the ladies, whom I 
will call Mrs. A., accidentally cut her finger 
a few days before our departure. The other 
lady, whom I will call Mrs. B., was a Chris- 
tian Scientist, and she tried her best to con- 
vince Mrs. A. that there was nothing the mat- 
ter with her finger. She would say, "Oh f 
no! It doesn't hurt; your finger is not cut; 
that is not blood, it's only imagination." 

It seemed as though their friendship 
would be affected by that cut on the finger,. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 85 

for Mrs. A. declared that the finger was cut; 
that it pained, bled, etc., while Mrs. B. de- 
clared, in the name of Christian Science (so 
called), that it was all imagination. The 
finger finally healed and all was smooth for 
a while. 

During the first meal on the steamer, 
every one seemed well and happy, but the 
next morning some did not appear at the 
breakfast table. Our two lady friends, how- 
ever, were there and both seemed well and 
happy. Before breakfast was over Mrs. B. 
left the table in a rather embarrassed manner, 
and, with her napkin over her mouth, made 
her way to the deck of the steamer. Here 
she began to share her breakfast with the 
little fishes; indeed she gave the larger por- 
tion of it to them, believing, I suppose, that 
it is more blessed to give than to receive. 

At the dinner table, Mrs. B. was not to 
be seen, and, upon inquiry, we found out that 
she was in bed in her cabin, and that, with 
all the Christian Science at her command, 
she had been unable to resist that uncontrol- 
lable desire which had come to her, of feed- 
ing the multitudes of little creatures that 
were in the ocean, and had exhausted her- 
self in the attempt. We were told that Mrs. 



86 FROM INFIDELITY 

A. had recommended to Mrs. B. the same 
treatment for seasickness, which had been 
suggested to her for a cut finger. She said 
that seasickness was simply imagination and 
that if she would put away all thought of 
being sick, she would be all right. 

Several days elapsed before Mrs. B. vis- 
ited the dining room, or even came out of her 
cabin. But finally, on the sixth day of the 
voyage, she made her appearance at the ta- 
ble. She told us that at first she was so sick 
she thought she would die; then she became 
so much worse that she came to the conclusion 
she was too sick to die. She would have been 
glad to die were it not for the little fishes 
that needed feeding. I learned afterward 
that her seasickness had completely cured 
her of all symptoms of belief in Christian 
Science. 

After a few days we became somewhat ac- 
customed to living on the water, and the time 
passed swiftly. Aside from a burning ves- 
sel, we did not see much to attract our at- 
tention, during the voyage, and we arrived 
at Antwerp without any exciting experiences- 

We stayed in a hotel in Antwerp, over 
night, awaiting a train for Basel, Switzer- 
land. After leaving Antwerp we found that 



TO CHRISTIANITY 87 

Mrs. Passebois had left her watch in the 
hotel, but there was no way of tracing it, so 
we had to do without it. 

We arrived at the sanitarium in Basel, 
Switzerland, May 18th, 1899. At one time 
this sanitarium had been fitted up for a 
Seventh-day Adventist printing office. In 
this place we met a few old friends and made 
many new acquaintances. This sanitarium 
is only one of the many like institutions con- 
ducted by the denomination, in behalf of 
suffering humanity. For half a century a 
system of institutions has been developing, 
where many thousands of people of all na- 
tionalities, classes, and sects have found that 
healing of body and peace of mind which they 
have so long sought. 

The object of these sanitariums is to 
impart to His followers, the ministry of the 
healing power of the Great Physician, who, 
when he went away, left them this commis- 
sion: "Go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature. He that be- 
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved; but 
he that believe th not shall be damned. And 
these signs shall follow them that believe; 
in my name shall they cast out devils; they 
shall speak with new tongues; they shall take 



88 FROM INFIDELITY 

up serpents; and if they drink any deadly 
thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay 
hands on the sick and they shall recover/ ' 
Mark 16:15-18. 

We spent only about three months in 
this institution. Being a French subject 
and without passport, I encountered some 
difficulties. Pastor H. P. Holser had thought 
there would be no trouble in Switzerland, 
but it was soon found out that I was of French 
birth and the authorities threatened to take 
me to the French frontier and surrender me 
to the French authorities. We were al- 
lowed to stay in Basel only two weeks, — 
that is to make our residence there. We 
were allowed to stay there during the day 
and teach, but had to sleep in an adjoining 
village at night. Thus every two weeks we 
had to change our residence, coming to the 
city in the morning and going back at night. 

For several months we lived in this an- 
noying manner. Then we went to Lausanne 
to attend the French-Swiss camp meeting. 
Here we were glad to meet many friends 
whom we had not seen for several years. 
We were very happily surprised to meet my 
sisters, who had just arrived, as we had not 



TO CHRISTIANITY 89 

seen them since they left me in Battle Creek 
several years before. 

Lausanne is a beautiful city, — the capital 
of the Swiss canton, the Vaud, and is situ- 
ated on the Swiss slope of the Jura Moun- 
tains, close to the northern shore of Lake 
Geneva. The population is 47,039. We had 
intended to spend only ten days in this beau- 
tiful spot, but an event took place that re- 
quired us to remain longer. Master Oliver 
L. Passebois came to gladden our hearts. 
His coming into the world was not a small 
event in our estimation, and we thought best 
to postpone our return to Basel for a time. 

With the birth of our son new responsi- 
bilities came to us, — the training and care 
of this precious gift intrusted to us. Too much 
importance can not be placed upon the early 
training of children. 'Train up a child in 
in the way that he should go and when he 
is old he will not depart from it." Prov. 
22:6. The lessons learned and the habits 
formed during the years of infancy and child- 
hood, have more to do with the formation 
of character and the direction of the life than 
have all the instruction and training of after 
years. 

While here in Lausanne, Pastor Hoi- 



90 FROM INFIDELITY 

ser invited us to go to Egypt and open 
up the work in that new field. After pray- 
ing and seeking to know God's will concern- 
ing the matter, we accepted the call. 

We returned to Basel and remained 
there a few weeks, — then bade our friends 
good-bye and left for Cairo, Egypt. We 
had a very pleasant trip all the way. El- 
der Holser, with his wife, two daughters, 
and Miss Ida Schlegel, a graduate nurse, 
accompanied us, thus making the voyage 
much more pleasant. This voyage on the 
Mediterranean Sea was a witness to us of 
the mighty power of the Creator, as day after 
day we gazed upon it; we were reminded of 
the following Scripture: 

"Hear now this, O foolish people, and 
without understanding; which have eyes, 
and see not; which have ears, and hear not: 
fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not 
tremble at my presence, which have placed 
the sand for the bound of the sea by a per- 
petual decree, that it cannot pass it: and 
though the waves thereof toss themselves,, 
yet can they not prevail; though they roar, 
yet can they not pass over it?" Jer. 5:21,22. 
Also Ps. 104. God does not speak of His 
mighty power here in order to frighten us. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 91 

It is that we may trust Him. Perfect faith 
and love drive away fear. So God refers 
to His power over the sea as an evidence of 
His faithfulness. An example of the faith- 
fulness of God as spoken of in this last Scrip- 
ture, is given us in the fourth chapter of Mark, 
verses 35-41: "And the same day, when 
the even was come, he saith unto them, let 
us pass over unto the other side. And when 
they had sent away the multitude, they 
took him even as he was in the ship. And 
there were also with him other little ships. 
And there arose a great storm of wind, and 
the waves beat into the ship, so that it was 
now full. And he was in the hinder part of 
the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awake 
him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou 
not that we perish? And he arose, and re- 
buked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, 
be still. And the wind ceased, and there 
was a great calm. And he said unto them, 
Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye 
have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, 
and said one to another, What manner of 
man is this, that even the wind and the sea 
obey him?" This was only a manifesta- 
tion of God's original creative power. He 
who created the heavens and the earth, the 



92 FROM INFIDELITY 

sea and all that in them is, still retains full 
control over all. In those words, " Peace, 
be still," we hear the same voice that said, 
"Let the waters under the heavens be gath- 
ered together into one place." And this is 
the word which is preached unto us in the 
gospel. We are to learn from God's power 
over the sea, which is His because He made 
it, His power over the waves of strife that 
surge through human hearts; for the angry 
sea represents the wicked. "But the wicked 
are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, 
whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Isa. 
57:20. Christ is our peace. The words which 
he spoke to the sea of Galilee that night are 
the words which He speaks to us. "I will 
hear what God the Lord will speak: for He 
will speak peace unto His people, and to 
His saints; but let them not turn again to 
folly." Ps. 85:8. Surely here is comfort 
for those who have long struggled in vain 
with fierce passions. 

Not only is God's power over the sea 
a symbol of His power to save man from the 
tide of sin, but it is also a pledge and surety 
of their final complete deliverance. It also 
shows the power with which God is going to 
clothe the preaching of the gospel message 



TO CHRISTIANITY 93 

in the last struggle, preceding His second 
coming. Listen to the following soul-thrill- 
ing words : 

"Awake, awake! Put on strength, O 
arm of the Lord. Awake, as in the days of 
old, the generation of ancient times. Art 
thou not it that cut Rahab [Egypt] in pieces, 
that pierces the dragon? Art thou not it 
that dried up the sea? the waters of the 
great deep? That made the depths of the 
sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? 
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return 
and come with singing unto Zion; and ever- 
lasting joy shall be upon their heads. They 
shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow 
and sighing shall flee away. I, even I, am 
he that comforteth you. Who art thou that 
art afraid of man, that shall die, and of the 
son of man that shall be made as grass, and 
has forgotten the Lord thy maker, that 
stretched forth the heavens and laid the 
foundations of the earth: and fearest con- 
tinually all day because of the fury of the 
oppressor, when he makest ready to destroy? 
And where is the fury of the oppressor? The 
captive exile shall speedily be loosed; and 
he shall not die and go down into the pit, 
neither shall his bread fail, for I am the Lord 



94 FROM INFIDELITY 

thy God, which stirs up the sea that the 
waves thereof roar, the Lord of Hosts is His 
name, and I have put my words in thy mouth 
and have covered thee in the shadow of my 
hand that I may plant the heavens and lay 
the foundations of the earth and say unto 
Zion: Thou art my people." Isa. 51:9-16, 
Revised Version. 

Surely, the fact that the sea is His and 
that He has made it (Psa. 95:5), and that 
He has measured the waters in the hollow 
of His hand (Isa. 40:12), is sufficient ground 
for confidence in Him by any of His people, 
whether it be for deliverance from sin, de- 
liverance from danger seen and unseen, or 
for help in carrying on the work to which He 
has called them. 

What a change had been wrought in 
me! A few years before, I said "There is 
no God," but now I could not understand 
how any one could look at the mighty sea 
and the firmament and say, "There is no 
God." 

"The heavens declare the Glory of God; 
and the firmament showeth His handiwork. 
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night 
unto night showeth knowledge. There is 
no speech nor language where their voice is 



TO CHRISTIANITY 95 

not heard. Their line is gone out through 
all the earth, and their words to the end of 
the world. In them hath he set a taber- 
nacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom 
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as 
a strong man to run a race. His going forth 
is from the end of the heaven, and his cir- 
cuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing 
hid from the heat thereof." Psa. 19:1-6. 



CHAPTER TEN 
ARRIVING AT PORT SAID 

Egypt is reached from the north by Port 
Said or Alexandria. There is not very much 
in either of these places to attract any one, 
but to one who is not accustomed to the 
habits and manners of the Orient, everything 
is new and interesting. 

Our boat arrived at Port Said early in 
the morning. Though we left Europe when 
the streets were covered with ice and snow, 
here we were greeted by beautiful warm 
weather and it seemed like mid-summer. 

As we left the boat we were met by a 
crowd of Arabs, all desiring to help us and 
all asking for "basheesh." The colors and 
costumes before me were of such a variety 
that it reminded me of a scene in " Arabian 
Knights." 

After attending to the baggage, etc., 
we took a train for Cairo and, in a few hours, 
arrived in that city. The trains in Egypt 

96 



TO CHRISTIANITY 97 

are narrow gauge and they seemed strange 
indeed to us. 

Cairo is one of the most interesting cities 
in the world. The warm sun is very in- 
viting, even during the winter months, and 
the total change of scenery, ideas and man- 
ners of the people, allure many tourists thither. 
The picturesque confusion and romantic as- 
sociations lend Cairo an imperishable charm. 
A large volume could be written, describing 
the city of Cairo,-its wonderful antiquities, 
etc., but space will not allow here. 

After locating in Cairo, the next and 
most important task before us was learning 
the Arabic language. Pastor Holser and 
family located in Helouan, about twelve 
miles from Cairo, while Sister Schlegel re- 
mained with us. 

The winter was delightful, but when 
summer came the heat was very trying.. 
Mosquitoes and bad water were also a great 
hindrance to our comfort. Our baby boy 
suffered more than any of us, as we could 
not obtain good milk for him. While we 
were looking for a permanent abiding place, 
we put the little fellow on goats' milk, and 
it seemed to agree with him very well, but 
after we moved to our new quarters we could 



98 FROM INFIDELITY 

not obtain milk from the same herd of goats. 
The change did not agree with him, however, 
so we tried cow's milk. This was not sat- 
isfactory either. Although I paid fifteen 
cents a quart for it and the cow was milked 
at our door, the milk seemed thin. Finally, 
one day I decided I would watch the Arab 
while he milked the cow. To my surprise 
I found that a little stream of water from a 
bag under the Arab's arm was being poured 
into our pitcher. If this water had been 
clean it would not have been quite so bad, 
but it was unfiltered water from the Nile. 
You may be sure I promptly dismissed the 
man. After we had learned to speak the 
Arabic language we could obtain milk for 
two and one-half cents a quart, but we de- 
cided to give the baby condensed milk, which 
we knew was clean and sterilized. 

Many interesting customs of the people 
might be described, but space will permit 
only a few. 

An Egyptian wedding is a very curious 
performance. In the first place, you must 
not think of seeking a wife yourself. Young 
ladies in the East are not wooed in person, 
and no lover's eyes may see his mistress until 
he has married her. Modesty, according 



TO CHRISTIANITY 99 

to Mohammedan ideas, is incompatible with 
visibility, and if young men and maidens 
do happen to see each other's faces, "the 
curse of God is on the seer and the seen." 
""The best of women," said the blessed Fatima, 
daughter of the prophet, "is she who sees 
not men, and whom they see not." Hence 
the would-be bridegroom must act through 
an intermediary. He will betake himself 
to the Cairene equivalent of a registry-office, 
namely, an old woman called a khativa, or 
^betrother," who is, in fact, a sort of per- 
ambulating "Matrimonial Herald," and 
knows exactly who wants to marry off a 
daughter and how much he will take for her. 
Twenty pounds form an average dowry, 
and even five shillings will satisfy the law. 
The legal part of the marriage being arranged, 
the festivities soon follow. On the day pre- 
ceding that on which she is conducted to the 
bridegroom's house, the bride goes to the 
public bath, accompanied by a number of 
her female relations and friends. The pro- 
cession generally pursues a circuitous route, 
for the sake of a greater display, and, on 
leaving the house, turns to the right. In 
Cairo the bride walks under a canopy of silk, 
borne by four men, with one of her near fe- 



100 FROM INFIDELITY 

male relations on each side of her. Young 
unmarried girls walk before her; these are 
preceded by the married ladies, and the pro- 
cession is headed and closed by a few musi- 
cians with drums and hautbous. 

"The bride is conducted to the house of 
the bridegroom on the following day, in the 
same manner as to the bath, or with more 
pomp. In Cairo the bridal processions of 
people of very high rank are conducted with 
singular display. 

"When the bride and her party arrives 
at the house they sit down to a repast. The 
bridegroom does not yet see her. He has 
already been to the bath, and at nightfall he 
goes in procession with a number of his friends 
to a mosque to perform the night prayers. 
He is accompanied with musicians and sing- 
ers, or by chanters of lyric odes in praise of 
the Prophet. On his return, most of his 
other attendants bear lighted wax candles 
and bunches of flowers. When he reaches 
the house, he leaves his friends in a lower 
apartment, and goes up to the bride, whom 
he finds seated with a shawl thrown over her 
head, so as to conceal her face completely r 
and attended by one or two females. The 
latter he induces to retire by means of a. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 10 1 

small curtain. He then gives a present of 
money to the bride, as 'the price of uncover- 
ing the face;' and, having removed the cov- 
ering (saying as he does so, 'in the name of 
God, the compassionate, the Merciful'), he 
beholds her, generally for the first time. On 
the occasion of this first visit, he is recom- 
mended to perfume himself, and to sprinkle 
some sugar and almonds on the head of the 
bride and on that of each woman with her. 
Also when he approaches her he should per- 
form the prayers of two rek'as, and she should 
do the same, if able ; then he should take hold 
of the hair over her forehead, and say, 'O 
God, bless me in my wife, and bless my wife 
in me! O God, bestow upon me offspring 
by her, and bestow upon her offspring by 
me! O God, unite us, as thou hast united, 
happily, and separate, when thou separatist, 
happily.' 

"The education of a boy begins when 
he is five or six years old, when he is sent to 
the public school. The school consists of a 
single room where the pupils, who are not 
too numerous to form one class, squat in 
rows before the schoolmaster, and are duly 
provided, for a very trifling payment, with 
what, until recently, passed for a polite edu- 



102 FROM INFIDELITY 

cation in Egypt. This consists, first, in 
learning the alphabet, which the master 
writes out in bold characters on a small white 
board, which the pupil holds in his hand. 
Next, reading is taught by easy stages, but 
very often this accomplishment is never prop- 
erly acquired, and the pupil passes on to 
learning the Koran, or part of it, by heart. 
To be able to recite certain portions of the 
Koran is essential to the due performance 
of the rites of religion; whereas most people 
can get on in Egypt very well without being 
very proficient in reading. Hence the learn- 
ing of the Koran is the chief business of the 
school, and reading is directed mainly to 
that end. The pupil is given a chapter of 
the sacred book, opened out on a little desk 
made of palm sticks and proceeds to commit 
it to memory by chanting it aloud in a sing- 
song fashion, swinging the body to and fro 
to the rythm of the verses. It is not diffi- 
cult to ascertain when a school is at work; 
the babel of confused noise, which proceeds 
from the simultaneous chanting of different 
portions of the Koran by the various scholars,, 
is audible from afar. 

''This is all that the boy generally learns 
at school. Indeed, the schoolmaster could 



TO CHRISTIANITY 103 

not teach him much more. The worthy man 
knows his Koran and can instill it with the 
help of a stout cane, into the pupils' skulls; 
but he is thoroughly illiterate, and some- 
times cannot even read, and has to get a pu- 
pil-teacher to write the alphabets and copies, 
on the pretense of having weak eyes. Writ- 
ing is not always taught at the school, and 
the lower classes do not feel any urgent neces- 
sity for this accomplishment. Public writers 
are always to be found if a letter has to be 
indited on rare occasions. If a pupil wishes 
to attain the summit of Egyptian learning, 
he must attend the classes of the collegiate 
mosque, called the Azhar." 



CHAPTER ELEVEN 
EGYPT IN PROPHECY 

Until we became acquainted with the peo- 
ple and language, we had to pay high prices 
for everything. Many and diverse were 
our experiences among the natives. We were 
often reminded, as we saw the conditions of 
these people and the remains of the wonder- 
ful works of art of the ancient Egyptians, of 
the prophecies in the Bible, concerning Egypt. 

'The burden of Egypt. Behold, the 
Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall 
come into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall 
be moved at His presence, and the heart of 
Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I 
w r ill set the Egyptians against the Egyptians; 
and they shall fight every one against his 
brother, and every one against his neighbor; 
city against city, and kingdom against king- 
dom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in 
the midst thereof; and I will destroy the coun- 
sel thereof; and they shall seek to the idols, 

104 



TO CHRISTIANITY 105 

and to the charmers, and to them that have 
familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And 
the Egyptians will I give over into the hand 
of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule 
over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and 
the river shall be wasted and dried up. And 
they shall turn the rivers far away; and the 
brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried 
up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The 
paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of 
the brooks, and everything sown by the 
brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and 
be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, 
and all they that cast angle into the brooks 
shall lament, and they that spread nets upon 
the waters shall languish. Moreover they 
that work in fine flax, and they that weave 
networks, shall be confounded. And they 
shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all 
that make sluices and ponds for fish. 

"Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, 
the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh 
is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, 
I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient 
kings? Where are they? Where are thy 
wise men? and let them tell thee now, and 
let them know what the Lord of hosts hath 



106 FROM INFIDELITY 

purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan 
are become fools, the princes of Noph are 
deceived ; they have also seduced Egypt, even 
they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.. 
The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in 
the midst thereof: and they have caused 
Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a 
drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neith- 
er shall there be any work for Egypt, which 
the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. In 
that day shall Egypt be like unto women r 
and it shall be afraid and fear because of the 
shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, 
which he shaketh over it. And the land of 
Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one 
that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid 
in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord 
of hosts, which he hath determined gainst 
it. 

'Tn that day shall five cities in the land 
of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and 
swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called r 
The city of destruction. In that day shall 
there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of 
the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border 
thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a 
sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts 
in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto 



TO CHRISTIANITY 107 

the Lord because of the oppressors, and he 
shall send them a saviour, and a great one,, 
and he shall deliver them. And the Lord 
shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians 
shall know the Lord in that day, and shall 
do sacrifices and oblation; yea, they shall 
vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. 
And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall 
smite and heal it: and they shall return even 
to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, 
and shall heal them. "In that day shall 
there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria,, 
and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and 
the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyp- 
tians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that 
day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and 
with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst 
of the land; whom the Lord of hosts shall 
bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people ,- 
and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel 
mine inheritance. Isa. 19. 

"And I will bring again the captivity 
of Egypt, and will cause them to return unto 
the land of Pathros, into the land of their 
habitation; and they shall be there a base 
kingdom. It shall be the basest of the king- 
doms; neither shall it exalt itself any more 
above the nations: for I will diminish them r 



108 FROM INFIDELITY 

that they shall no more rule over the nations." 
Eze. 29:14, 15. 

Could we doubt this wonderful descrip- 
tion of what had been written by the inspired 
writers centuries ago? We had the witnesses 
of the fulfillment of these prophecies right 
before us. 

Cairo is the caravanserai of the world; 
all nations seem to meet in this wonderful 
cosmopolitan center, and while trying to ac- 
quire the language, we sowed the seed of the 
Third Angel's Message by distributing thou- 
sands and thousands of pages of literature 
containing this message, in many different 
languages. 

After spending some time in Cairo, we 
Teceived a letter from Luxor, Egypt, asking 
for some literature, which would explain our 
work. This request was granted and soon 
-we received another letter asking for more 
light, and urging us to go to Luxor and teach 
the people there the light of present truth. 
At that time I was conducting meetings in 
Cairo and could not leave. In a few weeks 
we were surprised by a visit from our cor- 
respondent. He was so anxious for light 
that he felt he could not wait any longer and 
.so decided to come and see us. We gave 



TO CHRISTIANITY 109 

him a hearty welcome, and after he had vis- 
ited with us for a week, he returned home, 
taking several of my books with him. Short- 
ly afterward I received word from him to 
the effect that he had decided to obey God 
and keep the Sabbath, according to the 
commandment. 

How happy we felt when this good news 
came to us, for it meant much to the work 
in Egypt. Brother Awada Abd-el Shaheed 
was of Egyptian birth, being a descendant 
of the Copts. He had been converted in 
his youth and had taught several years in 
an American mission, having been ordained 
to the ministry twelve years before. He 
was then preaching in Egypt in behalf of 
the American Presbyterian Mission. 

This news soon spread all over the coun- 
try and many letters of inquiry and calls to 
lecture in different churches of the natives, 
came to us, for these people desired the light. 
However, the leaders of the American Mis- 
sion saw what it would mean if we were left 
free to preach, and they immediately used 
every means possible to keep the people in 
ignorance concerning the Sabbath. They 
preached against the keeping of God's com- 



110 FROM INFIDELITY 

mandments, thus contradicting their own 
previous teachings. 

Brother Abd-el Shaheed united his ef- 
forts with ours and was at once set to work 
for the salvation of his people. As his na- 
tive tongue was the Arabic language, and he 
was very familiar with the English language, 
I found him a very valuable help in inter- 
preting for me among the Arabs. 

"Out of Egypt have I called my son." 
We felt that the declaration of God was 
being truly verified to us, and as Israel of 
old came out of Egypt to go to the promised 
land, surely God was then calling a people 
from the darkness of Egypt, as well as from 
every other nation, kindred, tongue and 
people, to obey Him by keeping His com- 
mandments, that they might be ready when 
Jesus comes. Of that company of people, 
John was given a panoramic view, after they 
had been redeemed from the earth. He says 
he saw them upon the sea of glass and they 
were without guile in their mouths and with- 
out fault before the throne of God, and they 
followed the Lamb whithersoever He went. 
Rev. 14:1-12. 



CHAPTER TWELVE 

VISITING NATIVE VILLAGES. OR- 
GANIZING FIRST S. D. A. 
CHURCH IN EGYPT. 

We were two years in Egypt, practically 
alone, Pastor Holser having been obliged 
to leave, only a few months after his arrival, 
on account of ill health, which made it neces- 
sary for him to return to the United States. 

I now decided to visit several places with 
Brother Abd-el Shaheed, where he had ac- 
quaintances; so after spending a few weeks 
at his home in Luxor, we started for the coun- 
try villages. We went right in among the 
natives, leaving all civilization behind. We 
soon gained an audience in the first village 
where we stopped. The people followed us 
up and soon we had several hundred ready 
to listen to us. We talked to them from nine 
o'clock in the morning until four in the after- 
noon, when we were invited to take dinner 
in 



112 FROM INFIDELITY 

with the sheik of the village. As this was to 
be my first meal among the natives, I watched 
the performance with great interest. 

Before I describe our meal among the 
natives, however, I wish to describe the vil- 
lage. An Egyptian village is in a class by 
itself. A causeway of earth, raised high 
enough to be above the reach of the inunda- 
tion, conducts the traveler from the Nile 
to a grayish-brown mass, which is unlike any- 
thing he has seen in other lands. The huts 
form a complete wall around the village, with 
no opening save the main entrance or where 
a room has fallen down, and, as is usually 
the case, has not been repaired. The huts 
are built of bricks merely dried in the sun. 
If there were any continuous rains, these 
bricks would dissolve into mud, but such a 
disaster never happens in Egypt. 

An Arab hut is, at best, a temporary 
looking structure. The walls are neither 
straight nor at right angles; every part looks 
ready to fall and shows no attempt at either 
solidity or beauty; a few holes answer the 
purpose of windows. One room accommodates 
the whole family usually, with a little yard 
outside, affording room for the children, while 
animals and fowls roll in the dirt and enjoy 




TRAVELING ON CAMELS 




VISITING A NATIVE VILLAGE 



TO CHRISTIANITY 115 

themselves to their utmost capacity. In one 
of these huts, the sheik of the village where 
I was to have my dinner, lived. 

The Egyptian is not a gourmet and his 
dinner is very simple. After all had assem- 
bled in the room, we sat on the ground, sur- 
rounding a large, tinned tray, which had 
been placed on a box and which served as a 
table. There were no tablecloth, napkins, 
glasses, knives or forks. Large cakes of 
bread for each guest were placed on the tray. 
These served as plates and our fingers as 
knives and forks. 

After saying, "In the name of God," the 
host began the repast by plunging his spoon 
in the bowl of soup ; we all followed his exam- 
ple, the spoons plying between the bowl and 
the several mouths, with beautiful partiality. 
One spoonful of the soup sufficed for me, how- 
ever. The next course served, was a roast 
of turkey. The host thrust his two thumbs 
deep into the flesh of the fowl, then grabbed 
hold with his fingers, tearing out pieces of meat 
and passing them in his hands, which were 
shining with grease, to each of the guests. 
This was an awful sight and I wondered if 
my stomach could assimilate this meal. 

When the meal was finished we talked 



116 FROM INFIDELITY 

again to the people, until late in the evening. 
When all had gone to their different huts r 
we took a steamer rug, which we had brought 
with us, laid it on the sand and went to sleep, 
having the beautiful moonlight for a cov- 
ering. 

Space will not permit me to describe alt 
the diverse experiences among these natives^ 
so I will mention only a few. While visiting 
one of the villages, I shook hands with a leper 
and slept in his home, not knowing his con- 
dition until afterwards. Mrs. Passebois also 
shook hands with a person who had the small- 
pox. When the epidemic of cholera raged 
in Egypt I saw many people who were 
stricken with this disease, fall on the streets. 
The bubonic plague took many lives in Alex- 
andria, and we were exposed to it also; but 
we claimed the promises of Christ in Mark 
16:18: "They shall take up serpents; and if 
they drink any deadly thing, it shall not 
hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick 
and they shall recover." 

"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror 
by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by 
day." Psa. 91:5. 

After the trip into the interior of Egypt r 
we returned home, truly thankful for the 



TO CHRISTIANITY 117 

light of the Third Angel's Message in Rev. 
14:6-12, which is able to reach men in all con- 
ditions of life and transform them into the 
likeness of Christ. 

In Cairo we held services in our home 
and at times had a congregation of twenty- 
five or thirty people, sometimes representing 
eight or nine different nationalities. For 
several weeks I preached with two and some- 
times three interpreters, but the Lord blessed 
wonderfully; and, when Elder Conradi visit- 
ed us, a company of people were ready for 
baptism and gathered on the shore of the 
Nile, where we conducted our first baptismal 
service. How impressive was this scene in 
this land of Bible stories. Here, centuries 
before, God had permitted Joseph to be sold 
to the Midianites, and then, after a severe 
test, had placed him in the court of Egypt. 
This was the river on which Moses had floated 
in his ark of bulrushes. He had been edu- 
cated in all the learning of the Egyptians and 
God had called him to lead His people out 
of that land of darkness. Joseph and Mary 
took the infant Jesus to Egypt, but God says, 
"Out of Egypt have I called my son," and, 
not only was Christ taken out of that coun- 
try, but many even now are coming out from 



118 FROM INFIDELITY 

Egyptian bondage into the marvelous liberty 
of the sons of God, through the everlasting 
gospel of the Third Angel's Message. A 
church of some twenty members was organ- 
ized in Cairo and a company of Sabbath- 
keepers was raised in Alexandria and Luxor. 
I was ordained elder of the church before 
baptizing the candidates. 

While in Egypt it was my privilege to 
have an audience with the Khedive and place 
the following books in his library: "The 
Great Controversy Between Christ and Sa- 
tan," "Bible Readings for the Home Circle,'* 
and "Heralds of the Morning." 

On January 15, 1902, our daughter,. 
Herminie E. Passebois, was born in Cairo. 
Being brought up among Egyptians, French, 
Germans, Greeks and other nationalities, 
from the day she was born, she heard all these 
languages, and when she commenced to talk, 
she would mix them all up, besides coining 
some words of her own. 

By this time we had become more familiar 
with the language and were able to hold Bible 
classes with a band of young Arabs. 

It was my privilege to meet Mehemet 
Ali Pasha, who had been the revolutionary 
leader in 1882, when England entered to re- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 119 

establish order, and has since held control. 
While presenting the truth of the Third An- 
gel's Message to him, I learned that he was 
expecting the time would come, when the 
Turks would be driven out of Constantinople 
and would establish their capital in Jerusalem. 
When this takes place, it will be the fulfill- 
ment of the prophecy in Daniel 11:44, 45. 
This pasha also expected that when this time 
came, there would be a general "Holy War" 
between Mohammedans and Christians and 
that it would be the worst conflict the world 
had ever seen. I was surprised to find a 
Mohammedan having such a correct idea of 
what is coming upon the earth, for, although 
the Bible is very explicit on this subject, 
telling us that when the Turk comes to his 
end there will be a time of trouble such as 
there never was since there was a nation, — 
yet the great majority of Christians are look- 
ing for a time of peace, — a millennium. 

"And at that time shall Michael stand 
up, the great prince which standeth for the 
children of thy people: and there shall be a 
time of trouble, such as never was since there 
was a nation even to that same time: and at 
that time thy people shall be delivered, every 



120 FROM INFIDELITY 

one that shall be found written in the book." 
Dan. 12:1. 

For several years we have seen a strange 
paradox; the great peace movement on one 
hand and the extensive preparation for war 
on the other. The prophets Isaiah and Micah 
have declared that in the last days a time 
would come when many people would go and 
say, "We shall learn war no more/' etc. 

"And it shall come to pass in the last 
days, that the mountain of the Lord's house 
shall be established in the top of the moun- 
tains, and shall be exalted above the hills; 
and all nations shall flow unto it. And many 
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us 
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach 
us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; 
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and 
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And 
he shall judge among the nations, and shall 
rebuke many people: and they shall beat 
their swords into plowshares, and their spears 
into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn 
war any more." Isa. 2 : 2-4. Also Micah 4:1-3. 

There never was a time in the history 
of the world when so much has been said 




MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE 



122 FROM INFIDELITY 

about peace as in the last few years, and dur- 
ing this time of International Peace Con- 
ferences, many were saying that there would 
be war no more, for all the disputes would be 
settled by arbitration. 

On the other hand, the Prophet Joel 
said at the very time when men would be 
talking peace, there would be a great prepara- 
tion for war among the nations. This we 
have seen fulfilled. 

'Tor when they shall say, Peace and 
safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon 
them, as travail upon a woman with child," 
and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. 5 :3. 

Never before in the history of the world 
have men's ideals been so suddenly and com- 
pletely shattered, as at this very time when 
the churches and peace societies were giving 
the cry of "Peace and Safety," and nations 
were signing peace treaties, stating that they 
would learn war no more. 

The greatest war of the centuries burst 
unexpectedly upon the world, like a thun- 
derbolt out of a clear sky. Above the din 
of battle and conflict, such as the world has 
never before witnessed, the voice of God is 
heard, and His divine hand is seen, as na- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 125 

tions rise and fall in the struggle for suprem- 
acy. 

Fourteen long chains of prophecy are 
recorded in the Bible and every one of these 
terminates with one of four events, namely, 
the second coming of Christ; the final judg- 
ment; the resurrection of the dead; and the 
restoration of the everlasting kingdom of 
God, after the destruction of all earthly 
governments. 

According to the concluding words of 
the prophecy of Dan. 11, the world's his- 
tory is to terminate with the extinction of 
"the king of the north." Since Turkey 
occupies the place of "the king of the north," 
it must mean the annihilation of the Turkish 
Empire, just before all earthly things are 
dissolved. 

In a most graphic way, the angel told 
Daniel how the Turkish Empire is to madly 
rush into the last struggle for its existence, 
but will go down in the final crash of the 
nations, at the great battle of Armageddon. 

The prophecy implies that Turkey will 
come to an end finally, because "none shall 
help him." This plainly suggests that former- 
ly Turkey had been helped by other powers, 
when she was threatened with destruction. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 125 

For more than a century she has been helped, 
so the balance of power might be maintained 
in Europe. The great nations in Europe, 
by means of shifting diplomacy, have kept 
the Turkish Empire from being dismembered 
in many threatening wars, lest it would in- 
volve the world in a most calamitous dis- 
aster. What philosophers, diplomats and 
rulers have endeavored to avoid, the prophecy 
declares will surely come, — "a time of trouble 
such as never was since there was a nation." 
Yes, "He shall come to his end, and none 
shall help him." 

The Sacred Volume says that when "the 
king of the north" shall come to his end in 
the valley of the Euphrates and at Armaged- 
don, which territory is now ruled over by the 
Turk, it will usher in "the time of trouble, 
such as never was since there was a nation." 
It also says that, "at that time Michael 
[Christ] shall stand up, and at that time thy 
people shall be delivered, every one that 
shall be found written in the book. And many 
of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
shall awake." Dan. 12:1, 2. 

The important question for each of us 
to settle is not how we may enrich ourselves 
by Turkey's misfortune, for, when Turkey 



126 FROM INFIDELITY 

goes down, the whole world goes down in a 
universal crash. The very next verse fol- 
lowing the account of the battle of Arma- 
geddon, says: "And there came a great 
voice out of the temple of heaven, from the 
throne, saying, It is done. And there were 
voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and 
there was a great earthquake, such as was 
not since men were upon the earth, so mighty 
an earthquake, and so great, . . . and the 
cities of the nations fell." Rev. 16:17-19. 

Instead of peace, there will be destruc- 
tion. "For thus hath the Lord said, the 
whole land shall be desolate/' and, "I be- 
held, " said the Prophet, "and all the cities 
thereof were broken down at the presence 
of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." Jer. 
4:26, 27. 

The question for us to settle now is 
whether our names are written in the Book 
of Life. God's sacred Book predicted all 
this, that we might not put our trust in 
princes, nor lean on the arm of flesh, in the 
final day of trouble, but to lay our treasures 
up in heaven. God has warned the world of 
its impending doom. Well may the inhabi- 
tants of the land tremble, when God and man, 
earth and heaven, time and eternity, speak 



TO CHRISTIANITY 127 

with one voice and teach the same truth. 
Well may the lonely pilgrims of earth, by these 
last landmarks of time, count their journey 
almost ended; they may lift up their heads 
to behold their redemption drawing high; 
they may see the clear rays of light and hope 
that illumine the few remaining dark hours 
of life, and that guide their footsteps on the 
way to that city for which Abraham looked, 
"which hath foundations, whose Builder and 
Maker is God." 

In the fourteen lines of prophecy, here 
mentioned, if no where else, is unquestionable 
proof of the inspiration of the Bible. Though 
once I was an infidel and bitter against the 
Bible and its teachings, I was such because I 
lacked true knowledge of the Book. Many 
of the teachings of the popular churches are 
misleading and apt to lead people into in- 
fidelity; but a careful study of the prophecies 
of the Bible will lead one out from infidelity 
to true Christianity, as I was led. 



CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
TAKING A MUCH NEEDED REST 

On January 14, 1903, at about two o'clock 
in the morning, I dreamed that my brother 
was dying. I saw him lying on his bed, heard 
him say good-bye, and saw him take his last 
breath. Oh, what a dream! He was in 
France and I had not heard from him for sev- 
eral months. He had made no profession of 
religion, whatsoever. 

I had been working hard, night and day r 
since we arrived in Egypt, as there was sa 
much to be done and so few of us to do it, and, 
as the result, I overdid. About this time also, 
some of our Armenian brethren backslid, and 
apostatized, causing me trouble and much 
worry, and this dream concerning my brother, 
increased my anxiety and I was worried and 
much exercised over it. For a week I thought 
of it every day. A week later the news came 
that my brother had died of pneumonia. He 
died the same night and at the very hour that 
I had dreamed of his death. 

128 



TO CHRISTIANITY 129 

"And it shall come to pass afterward, 
that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; 
and your sons and your daughters shall proph- 
esy, your old men shall dream dreams, your 
young men shall see visions." Joel 2:28. 

A few weeks later I had another similar 
dream, this time about my aunt, who was 
living with my sisters, in Nice, France, and 
this also proved true. Both were laid away 
in their resting place, to await the resurrection 
morn, when the trumpet shall sound and the 
dead in Christ shall rise. 1 Thess. 4:16. 

In June, 1903, I had a sunstroke. A 
number of different times, while walking along 
the street, I had fallen and had to be taken 
home in a carriage. Not only the sunstroke 
had weakened me, but I also had nervous 
prostration and was a sick man. Therefore,, 
we decided to make a change. Dr. Keickline 
and Elder Wakeham, who had connected with 
the work in Egypt, advised me to go to Swit- 
zerland and spend a few weeks or months in 
recreation. Accordingly, we decided to go. 

Miss Schlegel, who accompanied us, in- 
vited us to her home, where we visited for a 
few days. From there we started on a trip 
through the Alps, walking from village to 
village for two weeks. This scenery was the 



130 FROM INFIDELITY 

most beautiful we had seen in our lives. No 
pen can describe nor artist reproduce the 
grandeur of the scenery of this country, with 
its lofty mountains and beautiful lakes and 
rivers. Here certainly is a manifestation 
of the wonderful power of the God who made 
the heavens and the earth, the sea and the 
fountains of waters. Gen. 1. Psa. 33:6-9. 

We spent about three months in Switzer- 
land. The mountain air did much for me 
and my health improved very rapidly. Al- 
though I had not fully regained my health, I 
received such an urgent call from the workers 
in Egypt, to return again to that country, 
that we did so, desiring to give our time and 
strength and all we had for the salvation of 
those poor souls. 

But alas! Soon after our return to Egypt 
the intense heat of the sun brought back the 
old trouble. Again I fell on the street, and 
was so sick that the doctor advised me to leave 
the country, as soon as possible. This was a 
severe trial to me, which, with the actions 
of some false brethren, and other matters 
that came in, brought discouragement. Dur- 
ing this period of discouragement which began 
here, I often cried, like Elijah in the wilder- 
ness, "It is enough! Now, O Lord, take my 



TO CHRISTIANITY 131 

life!" I had spent my life and energy for 
the Lord. Now, being broken down in health 
and those to whom I should look for help hav- 
ing turned against me, I felt that I was no 
more good to any one. 

On our way to the United States,we had 
to wait in Naples, Italy, for our steamer. We 
expected to be there only about two weeks, 
but on account of my physical condition, re- 
mained several weeks. We spent this time 
in a hotel. 

Finally we took passage upon a steamer 
of the Nord Deutche L'Loyd; we encountered 
a fearful storm and had a very rough voyage. 
At times, the captain, who had been on the sea 
for more than fifty years, lost all hopes of our 
ever seeing land again. He said it was the 
worst storm he had ever encountered. For 
the first time in my life, after nine voyages 
on the water, I was seasick. At last we got 
a view of the land, and, after two days of 
•delay, entered New York. 

Our first visit in New York was at the 
home of Mrs. Spear, 1066 Halsey St., Brook- 
lyn, where, several years before, Mrs. Passebois 
and the writer had been united in holy matri- 
mony. 

Christmas morning we arrived in Amherst 



132 FROM INFIDELITY 

N. H., at the home of Mrs. Passebois' parents. 
For a whole year, after returning to this 
country, I was unable to do any work at all. 

August 27, 1904, our youngest daughter^ 
Gladys, was born in South Lancaster, Mass. 
A few months later, we went to Nashville^ 
Tenn., and connected with the sanitarium at 
that place. Here, a controversy arose; and 
troubles among the sanitarium family, caused 
me to resign. We then went to Borden Springs, 
Alabama, where a brother, in whom I had 
great confidence, betrayed my confidence. 
After we had lived in Alabama about six 
months, we went to Atlanta, Ga., and worked 
in the sanitarium there. Again we misplaced 
our confidence and this brought still greater 
discouragement. Looking unto man, instead 
of following Paul's admonition, in Heb. 12:2, 
to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher 
of our faith, I began to doubt my own exper- 
iences with God. 

Here, the darkest hour of my life began ; 
Satan came with all kinds of doubts. Had I 
been deceiving myself? Was it all a dream ? 
Oh, how dark the outlook was! Then the 
thought came to me that I was lost because I 
had gone back on what I knew was true. 
For weeks and months the struggle went on. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 133 

The old tendencies of unbelief returned, and 
I even doubted the very existence of God, the 
inspiration of the Bible, etc. About this time, 
the sanitarium closed and we moved to Mari- 
etta, Ga. 

Here, I worked four years for a gentleman, 
named Mr. Faw. He was a Christian, indeed, 
and, unknown to him, I watched him. Never 
in my life had I seen a man live up to Chris- 
tianity, as this man did. His life inspired me, 
and I began again to search my Bible. 

"Looking unto Jesus the author and 
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that 
was set before him, endured the cross, des- 
pising the shame, and is set down at the right 
hand of the throne of God/' Heb. 12:2. 

Over and over again, I read this passage, 
and saw my mistake. I had been looking to 
the wrong pattern, and had failed. 

Again I studied prophecy. The more I 
studied it, the more I became convinced that 
those prophecies which had been fulfilled, 
could never have been written, only as God 
inspired the men who wrote them. 

As I took my eyes away from those 
around me, and looked unto Jesus, He 
helped me to see something I had not seen 
before — my own condition. No words can 



134 FROM INFIDELITY 

express the feeling that came over my soul ; 
I had wandered so far from God that I did 
not even seem to know how to return. 

I know that, during all this time, many 
faithful prayers were offered in my behalf, 
and the promise of God in James 5:15, was 
fulfilled. 

"And the prayer of faith shall save the 
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and 
if he have committed sins, they shall be for- 
given him." 

Not only was I healed physically, but, af- 
ter a terrible struggle with the enemy, I cast 
myself in the hands of God, pleading with Him 
to give me faith to believe. After repeating 
over and over the prayer of David, in the 
fifty-first Psalm, with many other prayers 
and tears, I arose from my knees, a new 
creature in Christ Jesus. 

I again began active work for the Master, 
and He wonderfully blessed my labors. 
Many avenues were opened for us to work 
for God in the South, but, on account of the 
sunstroke I had sustained, I was advised to 
resort to a colder climate. Accordingly, in 
1909, we moved back north. In August of 
the same year, I bought a farm in Amherst, 
N. H. The Lord wonderfully blessed us here, 



TO CHRISTIANITY 135 

but He had a work for me to do in His vine- 
yard. My brethren, who visited me, en- 
couraged me to go back into active work in 
the field. I, therefore, decided to put my farm 
on the market and go back into the work of 
preaching the message. 

About this time Elder G. G. Roth arrived 
here from Europe, to take charge of the French 
work in this country. I invited him to come 
and see me, which he did. I made a propo- 
sition to him to the effect that, if he would 
carry on an effort for the French people in 
Manchester, N. H., I would give him two 
hundred dollars for the work and my time free. 
He, accordingly decided to hold a tent effort 
there. Though the work on the farm was 
heavy and I was many miles from Manchester, 
by hiring help I managed to attend some of 
the meetings. 

One night, as the horse was very tired, 
after working all day, I decided to take the 
train to Manchester. After meeting I walked 
back home, a distance of twelve miles. This, 
however, was a pleasure, and I was glad to do 
it that I might have a part in the work and 
see souls saved. 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

A FIRE. SUBSEQUENT LABORS IN 
MANCHESTER. 

As I entered again upon more active 
service for my Lord and Master, I realized 
that I could not devote my time to His 
work as I should and have my interests in a 
farm. I, therefore, advertised my place for 
sale, and several came to see me about it. 
One man, in particular, was very much pleased 
with it and arranged to call on me and make 
out the papers on Tuesday, July eleventh. 
The place would then be sold, and I would be 
free to go wherever God called me. 

One day, as I was leading my horse to 
the pasture, I fell and sprained my knee. 
This occurred about a week before the day 
set for the sale of my place. I suffered in- 
tensely and was in bed most of the time during 
that week. 

Sunday night, July third, I dreamed that 
my home was on fire. I saw the house, barn 

136 



TO CHRISTIANITY 137 

and wood-shed all in flames. A terrible smoke 
was pouring from the buildings, and embossed 
in the clouds of smoke, I saw, as it were, in 
letters of gold, the following texts of scripture: 

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 
whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he 
trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord for- 
ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
strength. " Isa. 26:3, 4. 

Again and again I dreamed that same 
dream. On the Sabbath following, the mem- 
bers of the Amherst church met in our home. 
I was elder of the church at that time, and 
we had a blessed meeting together. That 
night I retired early, as I was tired and weary 
and my knee pained me. During the night 
I again dreamed of the fire destroying my 
home, just as before. 

When I arose the next morning, Sunday, 
July 9, I told my wife and her sister, who was 
spending a few days with us, about my dream, 
adding that if I was not afraid that the neigh- 
bors would think I was crazy, I would move 
everything out of the house and put them in 
the field. I then gave directions to my wife that 
in case of a thunder shower, she might have 
certain things ready to take out of the house 



138 FROM INFIDELITY 

quickly, that they might be saved, in case 
of fire. 

Due to my being crippled from my fall, I 
had engaged a man to do some haying, and 
my father-in-law, with his wife, came also to* 
help and to spend the day with us. 

We had dinner at about two o'clock,, 
after which Mrs. Passebois, her mother, and 
the children, went to the pasture to pick 
berries. My father-in-law and the hired man 
went to the hay field, leaving only my sister- 
in-law and me in the house. I was lying: 
down on the couch in our front room, talking: 
with my sister-in-law, when she said she would 
go out and pick up the clothes that were to be 
washed and put them to soak. She went out,, 
and after a few minutes I heard some one 
call, "Papa! Papa! Papa! Fire! Fire!" I took 
my crutches to go out, and walked as far as 
the kitchen door, when I saw the wood- 
shed on fire. I returned and went to the front 
door to go out; by that time, our nearest 
neighbors, who had seen the fire, were already 
on the spot, and met me at the door. I wa& 
carried away from the fire to a neighboring 
house, and the last view of my home, as I 
looked back from the carriage, was just as I 
had seen it in my dream. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 139 

In about twenty minutes, the house, barn 
woodshed, chicken house, two hundred-fifty 
hens and chickens and a young horse, which 
cost me nearly two hundred dollars, were 
burned up. Our money, clothing and most 
of our furniture were lost. I was left with 
nothing but the clothes I had on, which 
consisted of a shirt and overalls, and the 
other members of the family were not much 
better off. The insurance on the place had 
remained the same as when we bought it, and 
was so small that we were at a great loss. 

My children had their money in a drawer, 
so, of course, it was burned. But how thank- 
ful we were that none of us were injured or 
burned, and how precious was the promise of 
God, as I had seen it in my dream. Isa. 26:3,4. 

Our friends and neighbors were all very 
kind and did all they could to relieve our 
condition and make it as pleasant as possible,, 
under the circumstances. 

For years we had desired a home of 
our own and had bought this place to satisfy 
this desire. We had many souvenirs and trink- 
ets of which we thought a great deal, but they 
went up in smoke. Once more we were remind- 
ed that all things on this earth pass away, — 
loved ones, friends, homes, etc. Yes, Christ 



140 FROM INFIDELITY 

said even "Heaven and earth shall pass 
away, but my words shall not pass away." 
Matt. 24:3. Isa. 40:8. 

Right here at this time, I decided that I 
would never make another effort to obtain 
a home here on this earth, in its present con- 
dition, but that I would strive as never before 
to have a home upon the new earth, where we 
shall build houses and inhabit them. 

"And they shall build houses and in- 
habit them; and they shall plant vineyards, 
and eat the fruit of them." Isa. 65:21. 

The Bible says that God is going to make 
this world over again. Paradise will be re- 
stored, and the saints will inherit this earth 
eternally. 

This is not a dream. It is the plain 
statement of God's word. You see I am 
simple enough to believe God. I take Him 
at His word, and believe He will do as He 
has promised, for He means just what He 
says. 

God made man just as He wanted Him 

to be: a real material being, and sinless. He 

lived in the real Garden of Eden. He ate real 

food. His work of dressing and keeping the 

^Garden of Eden was a pleasure. Life was 



TO CHRISTIANITY 14* 

ideal and it will be the same when the domin- 
ion is restored. 

The purpose of God, though delayed, has 
not been defeated. The earth will yet be 
brought back to its Edenic condition. God's 
ideal will become a grand reality. 

Isaiah describes the new earth and its 
inhabitants, declaring that "they shall build 
houses and inhabit them. They shall plant 
vineyards and eat the fruit of them." Isa. 
65:17,25. Isa. 35. The blessed reality of it! 
Real people on a real earth, building real" 
homes, and eating real food! Families unit- 
ed! No divorces, no mortgages, no prisons, 
no hospitals, no insane asylums, no hard times f 
No strikes nor trusts! It will not be as now. 
But even thus it shall be in the eternal 
new earth. God's purpose fulfilled! Man 
right back where he jumped the track six 
thousand years ago, when sin made its unin- 
vited entrance. 

Peter also describes the fires of the last 
days that will melt the earth, burn the dross,, 
and remove the curse of sin. He says, "Never- 
theless, we, according to His promise look for 
a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwell- 
eth righteousness." 2 Pet. 3:10-13. 

This text forever settles the question of 



U2 FROM INFIDELITY 

how and when the mighty transformation 
will take place. It is at the end of the world. 
The renovating fires will go out and from the 
ashes God will bring forth the new earth 
wherein dwell the righteous. Malachi tells 
us that the wicked will be ashes under our feet. 
The beloved John describes the scene: 
'"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. " In 
It "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow 
nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain; for the former things are passed away." 
The new Jerusalem, with its streets of gold 
and gates of pearl, will be the capital of the 
new earth. The tree of life will be there. The 
^beautiful home of perfect peace! 

No curse! No sorrow! No pain! No tears! 
No sickness! No crape upon the doors of 
the new Jerusalem! Climate absolutely per- 
fect! Foliage of softest velvet! Fields of liv- 
ing green! This is not fancy. It is an eternal 
fact, based on the plain utterances of the 
living God. Rev. 21, 22. Let us lay hold of 
the blessed reality of it. Will you be there? 
After our home had been destroyed by fire 
we spent a few days at the home of Mrs. Pas- 
sebois' parents. We attended the Seventh- 
day Adventist camp-meeting in White River 
Junction, after which, by request of the North- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 143 

<ern New England Conference, I began to 
labor in Manchester, N. H. 

We had many interesting experiences 
in this city, which I can not relate here. 
However, I shall mention one, which will 
show the power of God in this message, in 
taking hold of people in all vocations of 
life. 

I called at a certain house one day and 
presented our French paper, "La Sentinelle," 
to the lady who came to the door. When she 
saw what the paper was, she shut the door in 

my face and told me to go to . A few 

days later I felt impressed to go there again, 
which I did; this time she took the broom 
and hit me on the back. This did not bother 
me very much, however, and a few days later 
I was again at her home, and she was listen- 
ing to the word of God. 

While I was reading the Bible, some one 
rapped at the door. It was a priest. After in- 
troducing us the woman told the priest, Mr. 

• , who I was and what I was doing. Of 

course, he expressed his displeasure at my being 
there and teaching the Bible. I found out that 
he had only recently arrived in this country 
from France, having left there on account of 
the separation of church and state. 



144 FROM INFIDELITY 

We had a long conversation together, last- 
ing three hours. A few days later, as I wa& 
walking on Elm Street, I met the same priest 
and he stopped me. He desired to make an 
appointment with me, that we might talk 
some matters over. To this I agreed, and, 
accordingly, at the appointed time, met him 
at Rock Rimmond, a secluded spot on the 
outskirts of Manchester. 

We talked here for two hours. This was 
followed by other interviews, and, for about 
three months, we met three times a week to 
study the Bible. 

The Third Angel's Message took hold 
of this man, and he left the Catholic Church 
and went back to France, was baptized, and 
met with severe persecution by the Catholics; 
they stoned his home, breaking every window, 
and they threatened to kill him. His sister 
was in a convent and he succeeded in getting 
her out, and continued to work for the Lord^ 
spreading the message. Since the war broke 
out I have not received any news from him. 

In August of this same year our camp 
meeting was held in Manchester. It was 
at this camp meeting that I was ordained 
to the ministry. 



CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

Soon after the conversion of the priest 
previously mentioned, I announced that I 
would speak on "The Power of Rome in 
This Country/' in the Red Men's Hall, 
in East Manchester. 

On the day appointed for this lecture 
to be given, I was given a cough drop, by 
a French Canadian. After I had taken it, 
I began to feel sick. I grew worse, and for 
some time, felt very sick. It then flashed to 
my mind that perhaps I had been poisoned,, 
for, only a few days previous to this, I 
had received a letter with the black hand: 
mark on it, and in it I was warned to "leave- 
the Catholics alone." 

I vomited all I had eaten and had severe 1 
pain. I then fell on my knees and prayedi 
to God that if I had been poisoned, He 
would, at least, retard the effect of the poison 
until I had a chance to see my family, who 
were to come to the preaching service in. 

145 



146 FROM INFIDELITY 

the evening, and that He would permit me 
to preach once more. 

'They shall take up serpents; and if they 
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; 
they shall lay hands on the sick and they 
shall recover." Mark 16:18. 

Claiming this promise of God, by faith, 
I arose from my knees, weak and suffering, 
and walked into the room where the meeting 
was to be held. Here several of our brethren 
and sisters had gathered for a prayer ser- 
vice, which we always held previous to the 
public meetings. I told them that I needed 
strength for the service, but did not tell them 
what I thought was the trouble, simply 
saying I was sick, and that unless I received 
special help, I could not preach. They all 
prayed fervently and the Lord heard their 
prayers in my behalf. 

Brother Frank Nelson, who had former- 
ly been a Baptist minister, and had accepted 
the truth a few years before, was helping 
me at the time. He had been teaching 
our children that winter and was boarding 
with us. I asked him to open the service, offer 
prayer and read the Scripture. All this time 
I was suffering intensely, but as soon as I 
got up to preach, I felt free from pain, and 



TO CHRISTIANITY 147 

the Lord gave me a message for the people, 
and perfect freedom in delivering it. Sev- 
eral gave their hearts to God that night. As 
soon as I sat down, however, the pain began 
again, and it was with great difficulty that 
I took the car home. When, at last, I reached 
home, I fell in a chair and there had cramps 
In my stomach and several choking spells. 
I turned white; then purple and black, and 
at times could not breathe. 

Everything that could be done was done 
by those around me. I was laid on a couch 
and my wife, children, our neighbor, Sister 
Morrill, with her two boys, and Brother 
Nelson, gathered around me. They all thought 
I was dying. 

"Is any sick among you? Let him call 
for the elders of the church; and let them 
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the 
name of the Lord." James 5:14. 

Brother Nelson, claiming this promise, 
took a little bottle of oil and anointed me, and 
sought God earnestly in my behalf. It was my 
only hope that the Lord might raise me. They 
all united in fervent prayer, and, as Brother 
Nelson placed his hand upon my forehead, I felt 
the healing power of God and began to breathe 
^easier. My pulse became normal, and God 



148 FROM INFIDELITY 

had restored me. Then we all united in a 
praise service for His wonderful deliverance. 
It was the best praise service I ever attended. 

The next day I went to see a doctor who 
was a friend of mine. I told him of my con- 
dition of the day before, but did not telf 
him about the circumstances or the cough 
drop. He examined me and said that it 
must be poison, that something I had taken 
had evidently poisoned me. 

Truly we could say like David, "Oh, 
taste and see that the Lord is good. ,, 

"I sought the Lord and He heard me,, 
and delivered me from all my fears.' ' Psalms 
34:4. 

"This poor man cried and the Lord 
heard him and saved him out of all his troub- 
les." Ps. 34:6. 

"The angel of the Lord encampeth round 
about them that fear Him and delivereth 
them." Ps. 34:7. 

"The righteous cry and the Lord heareth, 
and delivereth them out of all their troubles." 
Ps. 34:17. 

"Many are the afflictions of the right- 
eous: but the Lord delivereth him out o£ 
them all. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 149 

"He keepeth all his bones; not one of them 
is broken." Ps. 34:19, 20. 

A few months after this occurrence, 
we attended the General Conference, in 
Washington, D. C. The brethren assembled 
there, thought best that I change my field 
■of labor, and so we left Manchester to hold a 
tent effort in Richford, Vt. 

We felt especially interested in this place, 
for, only a few miles from the place where 
our tent was located, was the home of Elder 
D. T. Bourdeau. What a change had taken 
place in a few years! Elder Bourdeau had 
gone to his rest, but his works followed him. 
Years ago, when he preached the message in 
France, I was one of those who opposed him ; 
but the seed sown had brought forth fruit, 
and, after a few years, I was preaching where 
lie once lived and preached. 

The Lord blessed our work in Richford 
abundantly, and, although the First-day Ad- 
ventist and Methodist ministers did all they 
could to oppose our work, God's truth was vin- 
dicated and souls saved. Brother F. L. Abbott, 
who had been my assistant in the work at 
Richford, was left there to follow up the work, 
when I was called to visit the churches, 
in behalf of the Harvest Ingathering Cam- 



150 FROM INFIDELITY 

paign, and to take up the work in Burlington, 
Vt. 

Here, again, the Lord greatly blessed our 
feeble efforts. Among the converts from 
that place, is a young lady whom we have 
taken into our home, Miss P. She had 
been brought up a Catholic, and had lived 
with her aunt, who was a very devoted 
Catholic, for about twelve years. She had 
graduated from the Burlington Business Col- 
lege and was employed in a grocery store. 
She attented our meetings, gave her heart 
to the Lord, and decided to keep God's 
commandments. 

We expected to remain in Burlington a 
year or two, but in the spring, were called to 
Barre, Vt., to carry on a tent effort. 

After several weeks, we received a letter 
from Miss P. stating that she desired to 
be baptized. She was planning to go to Can- 
ada, with her aunt, and visit her mother, and 
wished to be baptized before going. 

On Friday, August 7, 1914, Sister P. came 
to Barre, in company with her aunt. That 
night, towards the end of the service in the 
tent, a terrific storm swept over the city and 
it seemed as if our tent would go to pieces; 
our trust was in God, however, and in the 



TO CHRISTIANITY 151 

midst of the storm, we could be at peace. 
But not so with this young lady's aunt. 
How she prayed to the virgin Mary, making 
the sign of the cross! She was nearly frantic. 
The next day, being Sabbath, we planned to 
have the baptism. Mrs. Passebois or I were 
not permitted to speak to the young lady 
a moment alone, the aunt not giving us any 
opportunity. 

Sabbath afternoon, I preached on Bap- 
tism, and its importance. At the close of 
my sermon, the young lady arose, against 
the wishes of her aunt, and said she would 
be baptized. 

The aunt did all she could to pervent it, 
and said, among other things, that she would 
be willing to put her head on a block, and 
let it be cut off, rather than leave her church. 
But the Spirit of God had done its work, 
and this sister stood firm for the truth. 
We baptized her that afternoon in the 
Winooski River, about two miles from Mont- 
pelier. 

After the baptism, Sister P. and her 
aunt returned to Burlington, and, from 
there, went to South Porcupine, Ontario, 
Canada. The priest in Burlington had 
visited the girl, but could not convince her 



152 FROM INFIDELITY 

that she ought to return to the Catholic 
faith. The word of God tells us that those 
who will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall 
suffer persecution. 

This was only the beginning of Miss 
P.'s experiences. While she was in Can- 
ada, her relatives did all they could to 
have her give up her faith in the message. 
Her mail was tampered with and some 
letters taken from her and she was abused. 
After spending several months in Canada, 
she finally returned to the United States, 
and, in January, 1915, came to our home in 
Rutland, Vt., where we had moved to conduct 
an effort in the church that winter. 

Before coming to us in Rutland, her 
aunt told her that she would rather see 
her with the white slavers, than to see her 
a Seventh -day Adventist. 

One day the aunt came to Rutland and 
tried to persuade the young lady to go 
back with her. When she did not succeed 
in this, she sought the aid of the law, and 
had a paper served on her, summoning her 
to appear before the court in Rutland, 
on a certain date. The aunt, with others, 
was going to try to prove that Miss Parnell 



TO CHRISTIANITY 153 

was mentally deficient and should have a 
guardian. 

Just before this, Miss P. had received 
letters from a certain party, asking her to 
Come to Boston and take charge of a store. 
This, with other letters she had received, 
showed that she was very competent. 

We, therefore, decided to meet the case 
in court, and hired a lawyer to defend Miss 
P., but before the date appointed for the 
hearing, the plaintiffs and their attorney got 
cold feet and were glad to drop the case. 

A proposal of marriage and other offers 
have been made to entice her to go back, 
but Sister P. loves the Third Angel's Mes- 
sage and is firmly established in the truth. 
She is now working to bring the message 
to others. 

The message in Revelation fourteen is 
gathering a people from all classes, national- 
ities, kindreds, tongues and peoples, and the 
power in the message is the power of God 
unto salvation, to every one that believes, 
and it will overcome every barrier, obstacle, 
and persecution. 

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile 
you, and persecute you, and shall say all 



154 FROM INFIDELITY 

manner of evil against you falsely, for my 
sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great 
is your reward in heaven; for so persecu- 
ted they the prophets which were before you.'" 
Matt. 5:11,12. 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 
LACONIA, N. H. 

"Quench not the Spirit. Despise not 
prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast 
that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:19-21. 

Seventh -day Adventists, as a people, 
cherish doctrines that are unpopular, and this 
makes them peculiar. 

"Who gave Himself for us, that He 
might redeem us from all iniquity, and pu- 
rify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous 
of good works." Titus 2:14. 

The observance of the Sabbath is cal- 
culated to bring more or less odium, but the 
fact that we believe in the special mani- 
festation of the gifts of God's Spirit, is the 
main cause of our being unpopular. How- 
ever, we are not ashamed of our position 
in the matter, nor do we propose to apolo- 
gize for it. 

The writer was, at one time, as bitterly 
opposed to the visions of Mrs. White as 
any one could be, but was convinced beyond 

155 



156 FROM INFIDELITY 

dispute, of the inspiration of her writings 
years ago. 

In the verse at the beginning of this 
chapter, Paul, speaking to those preparing 
for the coming of Christ, said, "Quench 
not the Spirit." Fire is quenched with water, 
and, in like manner, the Spirit of God is 
quenched by unbelief. The great danger 
of the time before Christ comes, is, there- 
fore, unbelief. Need I say that that time has 
come? 

An alarming state of unbelief exists 
in our churches today; and, in many hearts, 
the very existence of God is doubted. The next 
verse says, " Despise not prophesy ings." Web- 
ster defines the word prophesying as, "the 
exercise of the gift of prophecy." This verse, 
therefore, is a special admonition to the last 
church. If the gift is not to be exercised, where 
is the danger of despising it? 

In Acts two, we have an account of 
the remarkable outpouring of God's Spirit 
at Pentecost. Peter defined this work as the 
fulfillment of the "promise of the Holy Ghost," 
given by Christ. Verse 33. That promise 
is recorded in John 14:16. Did it extend to 
the day of Pentecost, and then cease? Peter 
says further (verse 39), "For the promise is 



TO CHRISTIANITY 1ST 

unto you, and to your children, and to all 
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord 
our God shall call." Has He ceased calling; 
men? If not, the gift of the Spirit has not 
ceased. 

If this be the case, why don't we see 
more of its manifestations? Simply because 
people don't believe in it. It is conditioned 
upon faith, and unbelief is a prevalent sin,, 
which quenches the Spirit of God. 

The gifts were given "for the perfect- 
ing of the saints." Have we reached that 
condition yet? If so, may the Lord pity us. 
If the purpose in bestowing the gifts has 
not yet been realized, should they not remain 
till the designed result has been achieved? 
Where is the record of these gifts having 
been taken out of the church? True, they are 
too little manifested, not through the refusal 
of God to give them, but by the unbelief 
of man in rejecting them. 

In 1 Cor. 12, the apostle discourses 
upon spiritual gifts. Now do these gifts 
still exist? How about prophecy? Where has 
this gift been set out? The thirteenth chapter 
of 1 Corinthians discourses on charity or 
love, which shall never cease, but these gifts 
will come to an end. But when? "When that 



1158 FROM INFIDELITY 

which is perfect is come." Verse 10. When 
the perfect day dawns, we may look for these 
gifts to pass away, and not before. 

Revelation 12:17 tells us that the remnant 
church will keep the commandments of God 
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, and 
that the dragon will go to make war with that 
remnant. Revelation 19:10 tells us that the 
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 

Who are these people that keep God's 
commandments? 1. They must keep all 
God's commandments; 2. They must have 
the spirit of prophecy in their midst; 3. They 
^vill be unpopular; — the dragon makes war 
upon them. I know of no people who fill 
all of these specifications, but the Seventh-day 
Adventists. 

Mrs. White, in her ' 'Testimonies for the 
Church," wrote some years ago, to the 
the Seventh-day Adventist people, that the 
work they had neglected to do under favor- 
able circumstances in the cities, would have 
to be done under trying circumstances, etc. 

In June, 1915, we came to Laconia 
to pitch our cotton chapel, for the summer 
campaign. After much searching, we found 
a lot, paid the rent and began to pitch our 
tent. 



TO CHRISTIANITY 159 



While we were pitching the tent, Mr. 
whose residence was next to our lot, came 
to us and told us that he was a lawyer and a 
representative of the city in the legislature 
in Concord. He said he would serve an 
injunction on us, which would prevent us 
from pitching our tent so near his residence. 

Elder Shorey, who was to assist me 
in the effort in Laconia, said, "Elder Passebois, 
we had better not do anything further toward 
pitching the tent, but stop where we are." 
I said, "No! The Lord has sent us here to 
preach the Third Angel's Message, and we 
will stay here until we are forced to leave." 

When the tent was pitched, we began 
our services, and held them for three weeks. 
During this time, we had occasion to notice 
that our neighbor lawyer tarried often at 
the fruit of the vine. Sometimes, while 
our meetings were in progress, his wife 
would play the piano and phonograph to- 
gether, and sometimes sing also. She would 
also make herself conspicuous by slamming 
doors and shutting windows. 

Finally they decided to summon us be- 
fore the court, and try to have us move away. 

"The dragon was wroth with the woman 
and went to make war with the remnant of 



160 FROM INFIDELITY 

her seed." Rev. 12:17. We were called be- 
fore the court, and, with great pleasure,, pre- 
sented our work before the judge and the 
jury. Those who had been called to witness 
against us, spoke very highly of our work, 
manner of living, conduct, etc., but object- 
ed to having the services every evening 
so near their dwellings, saying they were 
not free to do as they wished in their homes 
on this account. 

These witnesses were all church members, 
and surely here before us was the fulfill- 
ment of the scripture in 2 Tim. 3: 1-5. 

"This know also, that in the last days per- 
ilous times shall come. For men shall be 
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, 
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, 
unthankful, unholy, without natural affec- 
tion, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, 
fierce, despisers of those that are good, trait- 
ors, heady, fierce, high minded, lovers of 
pleasures more than lovers of God; having a 
form of godliness, but denying the power 
thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5. 
A few days later we were officially noti- 
fied that the court had decided that we 
might hold services in the tent, on said lot, 
Sunday afternoons and evenings, Tuesday 



TO CHRISTIANITY 161 

and Thursday evenings, and Saturday after- 
noons and evenings. 

This decision was contrary to the Con- 
stitution of the United States, in limiting; 
us, and interfering with our religious worship ; 
therefore, we decided not to submit to the 
decision, but removed our tent to a lot, 
which was a few feet away. This we did and 
continued to hold our meetings every even- 
ing. Notwithstanding the fact that it rained 
nearly every night, we had good congregations, 
and many people attended the meetings reg- 
ularly. Truly, God turned the wrath of the 
wicked into praise to His name. 

At one time, our tent was partly blown 
down by a terrible storm, smashing part 
of the rostrum and doing other damage. At 
this time, some of those who had appeared 
against us in court, were the first to offer 
assistance. 

Here, as in other places, we found hearts 
hungry for the truth, and, as the message 
was preached, several responded to the calli 
and began to keep God's commandments,. 
We hope to soon organize a church here. 

Since moving from the tent into a hall,, 
we have been holding meetings several times 
a week, and have seen the interest increase. 



im FROM INFIDELITY 

Many^of the people of Laconia have been 
aroused, and are glad to listen to the plain 
teaching of God's word. 

"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, 
and seal the book, even to the time of the 
*end, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge 
shall be increased." Dan. 12:4. 

We have been led to buy an auto, that 
we may get around quickly and do more and 
feetter work for the Lord; and the prophecy 
of Nahum forcibly came to our minds, as we 
ran through the streets, highways and byways, 
:and even "made haste to the wall therof and 
the covering was prepared." Nahum 2:5. 
((margin). 

"The shield of His mighty men is made 
red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the 
chariots shall be with flaming torches in the 
day of His preparation, and the fir trees shall 
be terribly shaken. The chariots shall rage in 
the streets, they shall justle one against 
another in the broad ways: they shall seem like 
torches, they shall run like lightnings." Na- 
hum 2 : 3-4. 

The fifth day after we bought the auto, 
we went to Gilmanton with the "Harvest In- 
gathering Signs of the Times" to solicit offer- 
ings for missions. On the way home, we met 



TO CHRISTIANITY 163 

with an accident; we came to a hill that was 
very steep and rough, and, in some way the 
front axle was sprung, and therefore, I had no 
control of the steering gear. My son, oldest 
daughter, and Miss Parnell were also in the au- 
to. Realizing the danger of all of us being 
killed, I said to those with me that we were run- 
ning the risk of our lives ; then I prayed to God 
for protection. I had barely time to call upon 
God, before the auto, in climbing the banking 
on the left side of the road, turned bottom 
side up, leaving all of us under it. The others 
crawled out, but I could not. Then they raised 
the auto on one side, and I disentangled my- 
self and crawled out. 

God had heard our prayers, and not 
one of us was hurt in the least — not even 
scratched. I had in the auto, about twenty-five 
^tereopticon slides, which I had received 
that morning; they were scattered all over 
the road, but not one was broken. 

The wind-shield and top of the auto 
were broken, but God's protecting care had 
once more been over us, and kept us from 
danger. 

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of 
Him, because we keep His commandments, 



164 FROM INFIDELITY 

and do those things that are pleasing in His 
sight." 1 John 3:22. 

Truly God is our shield and buckler* 
He watches over us and is our hiding place r 
preserving us from trouble. (Psalms 32:7). 
His mercy once more had encompassed us, for 
"He keepeth all our bones; not one of them 
is broken;' Psa. 34:20. 



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

WHY I AM A SEVENTH-DAY ADVEN- 
TIST. 

While I am a Seventh-day Adventist, I 
am a Protestant. The word Protestant is de- 
rived from a word meaning to protest. Web- 
ster's dictionary gives the definition as "A 
member of any of those bodies of Christians 
that protest against the spiritual supremacy 
of the Church of Rome, originally one of the 
party who adhered to Luther, after the second 
Diet of Spires/' 

The Protestant platform is the Bible, 
and they claim that the Bible alone is their 
rule of faith. Anything not found in the Scrip- 
tures is not to be taken as a rule of faith. 

"All scritpure is given by inspiration 
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness." 2 Tim. 3:16. 

I regret to say that we have reached a 
time in the world's history, where the pro- 

165 



166 FROM INFIDELITY 

fessed Protestants have departed from the 
platform. The Federal Council of Churches 
of Christ in America, held in Chicago in 
1912, decided to drop the offending word 
" Protestant," as defining the constituency 
of the Council, so that the way would be 
opened for the Roman Catholic Church 
to become a part of that Council. 

I stand on the Bible and intend to give my 
reasons for being a Seventh-day Adventist 
from the word of God, which says/ 'Be 
ready always to give an answer to every man 
that asketh you a reason for the hope that is 
in you, with meekness and fear." 1 Pet. 3:15. 
In the first place, I am a Seventh-day 
Adventist because I heard the voice of 
Jesus calling after my soul. When I opened 
my heart to Him, He entered and I was 
born again. Some one asks, "How do you 
know?" 1 John 2:3 says, "And hereby we 
do know that we know Him, if we keep His 
commandments." Now it is an impossibility 
for a man out of Christ, to keep His command- 
ments, but by faith, we can live. Christ 
left us an example. 

I am a Seventh-day Adventist because, in 
Jude 14:15 we learn that Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam, prophesied the coming of Christ 



TO CHRISTIANITY 167 

with ten thousand of His saints, and we 
find from Gen. 5:22-24, that Enoch walked 
with God three hundred years. If Enoch 
walked with God, he must have kept His 
commandments. Heb. 11:5, 6 proves this. 
Abraham believed in Christ's second coming; 
also David. 

There is not a subject in the word 
of God to which more reference is given 
than Christ's advent. All the prophets 
prophesied of this great event; yet if we 
had not the prophets, Christ himself, as 
well as His disciples, taught that He was 
coming again. John 14:1-3. 

Now, why am I a Seventh-day Adventist? 
I turn to the first chapter of the Bible and 
find the story of creation, following which,, 
in the second chapter, we find that God rested 
on the seventh day, and instituted the Sab- 
bath. God's people knew His law before it 
was given on Sinai, for we find in Gen. 
26:5, that Abraham obeyed God's command- 
ments and laws. God also talked with the 
children of Israel concerning the Sabbath, 
when he was leading them out of Egypt. 
Ex. 16. 

But let us come down to the time of Christ, 
for He is the real foundation. In John 1:1-3, 



168 FROM INFIDELITY 

we find that Christ was in the beginning, and 
"without Him was not anything made that 
was made." Then the Sabbath must have 
been made by Him. People say, "We 
are keeping the first day, because Christ 
arose on that day." When Christ went into 
the grave the new covenant was sealed, and 
Christ never said one word in favor of Sunday 
as the Sabbath, either before He went to the 
grave or after. Christ created all things and 
rested on the Sabbath, so when He came, He 
told the Jews that He was Lord of the Sabbath. 
Mark 2 :27-28. The reason I am a Seventh-day 
Adventist is because Christ is one, not be- 
cause my father and mother were, for they 
were not. 

If anyone can show me one text in the Bible 
that tells me to keep Sunday as the Sabbath, 
I will keep it. I am a Seventh-day Adventist 
because Christ kept the Sabbath; because 
the angles in heaven are keeping the Sabbath. 
Will the thirteenth of December do just as well 
to celebrate Independence Day, as the Fourth 
of July? Of course not. Then why will the 
first day of the week do just as well as the 
seventh on which God rested, and which is the 
memorial of God's creative power? Ask 
any of the ministers why they keep Sunday, 



TO CHRISTIANITY 169 

and scarcely any two will give you the same 
reason, except that they are doing it in com- 
memoration of Christ's resurrection. 

Again, I would say that I am an Advent- 
ist because all the prophets prophesied of 
Christ's coming. I am a Seventh-day 
Adventist because all the prophets kept the 
Sabbath, and, above all, because Christ made 
and kept the Sabbath, and we, as Christians 
are supposed to follow in His footsteps. 
Paul tells us in Rom. 4:15, that/ Where no 
law is, there is no transgression." "Sin is 
the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. 
Since Christ gave no law for the ob- 
servance of Sunday as the Sabbath, we do 
not sin when we work on that day. And 
right here I wish to say that Sunday laws 
are contrary to the teachings of Christ. Sun- 
day laws are wrong in principle, as are all relig- 
ious laws, and date back to the Dark Ages. 
Sunday laws are as much religious laws and 
as disastrous to the prosperity of the country, 
as would be laws compelling baptism, prayer 
or church attendance. I am a Seventh-day 
Adventist because they believe in true relig- 
ious liberty, as taught in the Bible. Sometimes 
the theory is raised, as to what relation the 
Christian people ought to sustain to the 



170 FROM INFIDELITY 

state, and what relation the state should sus- 
tain to them. In substance, I should say that 
the state sustains no relation to them as 
Christians. The state does not know whether 
a man is a Christian or an infidel. It doesn't 
deal with him on the basis of the religion he 
professes, but on the basis of citizenship, and 
whatever it grants to one man, it should 
grant to all others, without any reference 
as to whether they make a profession of 
religion or not. 

I have heard the statement made, 
that it is the duty of the state to compel' 
everybody to worship God, according to the 
dictates of his or her own conscience. That ex- 
pression is used quite freely. But, my friends, 
it is just as much the right of a man not to 
worship God at all, as for another man to 
worship Him. The conscience of the infidel 
is just as sacred as that of the Christian. The 
state has nothing whatever to do with a man's 
religious worship, excepting to see that one 
man does not abuse another in exercising his 
conscientious convictions. 

The best thing the state can do with the 
church is to do nothing with it, — to leave it 
entirely alone. Not long ago I was talking with 
an ardent advocate of the enforcement of 



TO CHRISTIANITY 17£ 

Sunday observance by statute. He asked 
me if I didn't think it would be a good thing. 
I told him I thought it would be a very bad 
thing, he was astonished. "Isn't the Sabbath 
a good thing?" he exclaimed. "Yes, sir."' 
"Then shouldn't the state enforce it's observ- 
ance?" "No, sir," I replied. 

There are many good things, the doing 
of which the state has no right to enforce; 
in fact, when the state enforces some good 
things, it makes very bad things of them. 
Prayer is a good thing, isn't it? Men 
ought to pray. I pray, and I think it is a 
blessing. I asked my friend if he did not think 
we should enforce prayer by law; if he didn't 
think a policeman should stand, with a club 
over every man, and say, "If you don't pray 
I'll make you pray." 

"Don't you think it is a good thing for 
a sinner to be baptized?" I asked him. "And 
don't you think the Lord's supper is a good 
thing if it is observed according to the Bible? 
And, if so, wouldn't it be a good thing for the 
state to enforce both these religious cere- 
monies." The absurdity and injustice of such 
laws are apparent. 

There are many good things the state can 
never rightfully legislate upon. As soon as the 



172 FROM INFIDELITY 

state attempts to enforce the observance of 
these good things, it converts them into a mock- 
ery. When the civil law compels the observance 
of religious rites or ceremonies, it compels 
men to act the hypocrite. Jesus said, "My 
kingdom is not of this world," and the state 
has no right to legislate for the heavenly 
kingdom. 

A few years ago six Seventh-day Advent- 
ists were prosecuted and convicted of violat- 
ing a Sunday law. The judge was in 
a quandry, not desiring to enforce a law 
regarded as unjust. He said: "I have thought 
of resigning my position of judge, rather than 
enforce an unjust law. These six men are 
among the best citizens in my community/' 

"But," said the Sunday law advocate, 
"don't you think the state should protect you 
in holding this tent-meeting? Don't you 
think, if rowdies should come in here and break 
up your meeting, the police should protect 
you?" I answer "Yes," but not because we are 
Seventh-day Adventists. If infidels were out 
holding a meeting, should not the state pro- 
tect them the same? It certainly should. It 
is not because we are Christians, but because 
we are citizens and have a right to come 



TO CHRISTIANITY 173 

here and speak, unmolested, that the state 
is duty-bound to protect us. 

We have no right to appeal to the state 
in religious matters. I thank God for lib- 
erty. God, in Old Testament times, 
commanded, ' 'Proclaim liberty throughout 
all the land to all the inhabitants thereof." 
Our forefathers inscribed those words on 
the old Liberty Bell. Jesus came into the 
world to proclaim liberty to them that are 
bound. 

I am a Seventh-day Adventist be- 
cause Seventh-day Adventists believe in 
a God of love. The God of love will not 
consign His creatures to the flames of an 
eternally burning hell. Satan is responsible 
for such a God-dishonoring doctrine. The 
wicked will be utterly consumed and des- 
troyed in the lake of fire. 

The most horrible doctrine ever con- 
ceived in the mind of man or demon, is 
that of eternal torment. It denies that God 
is a God of love, by teaching the continued 
torture of the impenitent. It causes un- 
belief and scoffing to call our loving Father 
the author of such a plan. 

It involves His whole administration in 
the deepest dishonor. It would spoil the 



174 FROM INFIDELITY 

joys of heaven to hear the piteous wails of 
human beings forever pleading for a drop of 
water to cool their parched tongues. Is there 
a person with a spark of human kindness in 
his heart, who could endure the sight? 'The 
wages of sin is death," not eternal life in 
torment. 

They will be burned up, destroyed, re- 
duced to ashes and smoke, to everlasting 
destruction, to be as though they never 
were. So speak the scriptures of the final 
destiny of wicked men and demons. They 
will be burned with "unquenchable fire." This 
refers to intensity, not duration. It is un- 
quenchable because it cannot be put out or 
quenched as long as there is anything to 
burn. 

The wicked will always remain dead. The 
punishment which ends in complete des- 
truction, will be everlasting, The destruc- 
tion of Sodom and Gomorrah is set forth as 
an example of eternal fire. Jude 7. Seek out 
the site of those ancient cities, the saline 
waters of the Dead Sea roll over the spot 
where they once stood. The fire was eternal 
because the effect was eternal. 

The terms, "forever," "eternal," and 
■"everlasting," according to all standard au- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 175 

thorities, mean unlimited duration only 
when used in connection with things which 
will never cease to be; but limited duration, 
when used with things which will not always 
continue to exist. 

No provision is made for eternal blas- 
phemy against God's holy name. Malachi 
four tells us the wicked will be burned up 
root and branch, and they will become ashes 
under the soles of the saints' feet. The 
stain of sin will be wiped away. The uni- 
verse will be clean. Divine justice will be 
met. The agonies of the lake of fire will 
end in the blackness of eternal night. 

Eternal life and eternal death are set 
before you. Now is the time to decide your 
eternal destiny. Rebellion shall not rise 
up the second time. Righteousness shall 
win eternal victory when all rebellion, curs- 
ing, and hatred shall have gone out entirely 
and forever. 



Jesus Is Coming, 

Jesus is coming, coming in glory, 
Send the glad tidings over the sea: 
Tell it again, O wonderful story, 
Jesus will bring redemption to thee. 



176 FROM INFIDELITY 

Blessed Redeemer, soon shall we see thee r 
Soon shall be standing close by Thy side: 
Heavenly Father, Thou for thy children 
Wilt in Thy Kingdom, mansions provide. 

All of thy trials, all thy distresses, 
Jesus in tenderest mercy could see; 
Leaving His home in mansions of glory r 
Bearing reproaches, dying for thee. 

List to the Saviour, do not reject Him 
While there is time His grace to receive; 
Jesus is calling, tenderly pleading, 
Come unto Me, have faith and believe. 

Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming, 
Send the glad tidings over the sea; 
Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming, 
Bringing redemption, perfect and free. 

F. C. 



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 
NEARING THE PROMISED LAND 

We are living today in the night of earth's 
history, the dark reign of sin has continued 
through nearly six thousand years. 'The 
night is far spent, the day is at hand: let 
us therefore cast off the works of darkness, 
and let us put on the armour of light." Rom. 
13:12. God's real purpose in creation was to 
people the universe with intelligent, holy, 
happy beings, capable of rendering intelli- 
gent service to Him and their fellow creatures. 
"For thus saith the Lord that created the 
heavens, God himself that formed the earth, 
and made it; he hath established it, he 
created it not in vain, he formed it to be 
inhabited: I am the Lord and there is none 
else." Isa. 45:18. 

Since man fell, God has been gathering a 
people that will be true to him and will be 
loyal to his law. This was the purpose 
in calling Israel out of Egypt; God wants 
to people this earth with a people who 
177 



178 FROM INFIDELITY 

will be to Him for a name, for a praise, 
and for a glory; but they would not hear. 
Jer. 13:11. 

Of Israel it is said that "they would not." 
When Christ came they rejected Him, and 
you will remember the pathetic words of the 
Lord in Matt. 23:37. "0 Jerusalem, Jeru- 
salem, thou that killest the prophets, and 
stonest them which are sent unto thee, 
how often would I have gathered thy children 
together, even as a hen gathereth her chick- 
ens under her wings, and ye would not!" 

In the experiences of Israel there is a 
lesson for us to-day. "Now all these things 
happened unto them for ensamples: and they 
are written for our admonition, upon whom 
the ends of the world are come." 1 Cor. 10:11. 

The Lord had wonderfully delivered His 
people from Egyptian bondage and had en- 
deavored to strenghten their faith by perform- 
ing miracles before them. The ten plagues 
brought upon the Egyptians, the dividing of 
the Red Sea, and many other manifestations 
of the power of God, were wrought to strength- 
en the faith of the Israelites and to prepare 
them for the ordeal through which they were 
to pass. They left Egypt full of faith and 
courage, but in a little while became discour- 



TO CHRISTIANITY 179 

aged and faithless. The Lord had plainly 
told them what awaited them in the land of 
promise, but when they came to Kadesh- 
Barnea their faith failed entirely. They 
doubted the promises of God by sending men 
to spy out the land. They should have be- 
lieved the Lord without sending men to 
see, but they took the matter into their 
own hands, and their representatives re- 
turned with an unfavorable report. Only two 
men among them believed God and encour- 
aged others to go up and take possession of the 
land. Caleb and Joshua were men of God, 
men of faith. In delivering their report, they 
said that the land flowed with milk and honey 
and that they were abundantly able to go up 
and possess it. They acknowledged that giants 
were there and that the cities had high walls 
and there were many difficulties to surmount, 
but their faith in God was strong. Nothing is 
too hard for those who have faith in God. 

"The great day of the Lord is near, it 
is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice 
of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall 
cry there bitterly." Zeph. 1:14. 

We are on the border of the promised 
land. Shall we take hold of the promises of 
God by faith, like Caleb and Joshua, and enter 



180 FROM INFIDELITY 

the promised land, or shall we, like the ten 
spies and those who believed them, dis- 
trust God's power and perish in the wilder- 
ness? 

God's people will soon be gathered. He 
will perfect a people that will be a glory 
to His name. Jer. 13:11. 

"And in their mouth was found no guile: 
for they are without fault before the throne 
of God." Rev. 14:5. Of them it is said: 
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are 
they that keep the commandments of God, 
and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12. 

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap 
in mercy; break up your fallow ground: 
for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come 
and rain righteousness upon you." Hosea 
10:12. 



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